South Korea's presidential campaigns kick off, focus on ailing economy

By Ju-min Park

SEOUL (Reuters) - Contenders for South Korea's presidency kicked off their campaigns on Monday, vowing to unify a deeply polarised society and spur economic growth while navigating trade negotiations with the United States.

Asia's fourth-largest economy will hold a snap presidential election on June 3 to choose Yoon Suk Yeol's successor after the conservative leader was ousted over his shock martial law order that plunged the country into a political crisis.

Surrounded by a huge crowd of supporters dressed in blue, frontrunner Lee Jae-myung from the liberal Democratic Party rallied in the centre of capital Seoul.

Some supporters danced to campaign songs while others chanted "Lee Jae-myung, President!".

"Will you join the journey to a new start, a new path to hope?" Lee told the crowd, changing into a pair of sneakers onstage to signal his hard work during the race.

Lee, who lost the previous presidential polls to Yoon, is now riding a wave of popular support after overcoming a knife attack, standing up to the martial law order and contesting criminal charges that have threatened to disqualify him from the race.

His ongoing trials on matters ranging from bribery to charges mostly linked to a $1-billion property development scandal have been pushed back to after the polls.

Lee, wearing a bulletproof vest due to threats to his safety, promised to become the leader of unity and weather a trade crisis triggered by trade tariffs imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

His party's major policy proposals involve growing the economy with a focus on artificial intelligence and K-pop culture industries.

If elected, Lee would seek to restore soured relations with North Korea, which is technically at war with the South, while expanding the country's diplomatic sphere into Europe, according to the party's policy pledges.

Kim Moon-soo, Lee's conservative rival, began his campaign at a public wholesale market in Seoul, eating a Korean sausage soup with merchants and promising to revive small businesses in the slowing economy.

After a tumultuous week that required merging his campaign with a former Prime Minister who was also scheduled to run, the former labour minister has officially become the presidential candidate from the major right-wing People Power Party.

Yoon publicly endorsed Kim on Sunday to fight "the giant opposition party", but his support has garnered criticism from some PPP members who want the party to kick out the ousted leader.

Job creation and a business-friendly environment are Kim's key policy proposals. If elected, he has proposed an immediate summit meeting with Trump to negotiate tariffs.

Kim said he would focus on strengthening the security alliance with the United States but also seek a path for the country to potentially pursue nuclear armament by securing the right to reprocess nuclear fuel, a major step toward building atomic weapons.

(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Saad Sayeed)