© 2026

For assistance accessing the Online Public File for KAXE or KBXE, please contact: Steve Neu, IT Engineer, at 800-662-5799.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Lee Brings Mixed Record to South Korea Presidency

Lee Myung-bak was elected president of South Korea on Wednesday after a career of solid achievements, but he's almost been marked by scandal and illegal practices. In business, in parliament, as mayor of Seoul, and now as president-elect, questions remain about Lee's character.

He comes to office a moderate conservative, eager to open up the nation's economy but willing to continue some of the foreign policy initiatives of his liberal predecessors — including engagement with North Korea.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mike Shuster
Mike Shuster is an award-winning diplomatic correspondent and roving foreign correspondent for NPR News. He is based at NPR West, in Culver City, CA. When not traveling outside the U.S., Shuster covers issues of nuclear non-proliferation and weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and the Pacific Rim.
Creative Commons License
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.