Democratic Party’s Candidate Lee Jae-myung Elected as 21st President of Korea - Key Implications for Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (“TMT”)

Election Results and Upcoming Schedule

In the 21^stpresidential election held on June 3, 2025, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea won by garnering 49.42% of the vote. Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party received 41.15%, and Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party received 8.34%. The total voter turnout was 79.4%, exceeding the turnout of 77.1% in the previous presidential election.

Lee Jae-myung commenced his five-year term as the 21^stpresident of the Republic of Korea simultaneously with the confirmation of his election by the National Election Commission on June 4. Under ordinary circumstances, the president-elect forms a presidential transition committee before officially starting the term to prepare for the launch of the new administration. However, as this election was held following the Constitutional Court’s decision to remove former President Yoon Suk-yeol from office, President Lee’s term started immediately upon confirmation of his election.

President Lee is expected to appoint key officials, including the Prime Minister and Chief of Staff, and to establish and operate a National Policy Planning Advisory Committee (tentative name) to handle the restructuring of government organizations, selection of cabinet members, and setting national policy agendas. Meanwhile, the National Assembly is expected to convene special hearings to vet cabinet nominees and proceed with other necessary steps such as enacting amendments to the Government Organization Act to enable the formation of the new administration.

Anticipated Key Policy Directions

Considerable political, economic, and social uncertainty engulfed Korea over past six months in part as a result of former President Yoon’s martial law declaration and subsequent impeachment. With the inauguration of the new administration, much of this uncertainty is expected to abate. In particular, as the ruling Democratic Party of Korea holds a majority in the National Assembly (171 out of 300 seats), the new administration will likely have sufficient stability and momentum to push through its agenda with the National Assembly’s cooperation.

President Lee has been advocating “pragmatic progressivism” and is generally viewed as pursuing a practical approach. In the presidential race, he articulated goals such as making Korea a “Top 3 AI nation,” achieving a “3% growth rate,” and becoming a “Top 5 global power.” He highlighted “sustainable growth,” where growth is achieved through structural reform and innovation rather than through artificial stimulus or imitation, and “inclusive growth,” in which all citizens participate in and benefit from innovation and value creation, rather than growth benefiting only a few. These goals are expected to be further detailed in the process of establishing the new administration’s policy agenda.

Technology Policy Priorities: A Deep Dive

President Lee’s policy platforms demonstrate a robust focus on technology. A significant portion of his 247 campaign promises directly addresses information and communication technology, spanning areas such as artificial intelligence (“AI”), online platforms, cloud/data, and cryptocurrencies. Non-controversial pledges, particularly those concerning AI (which also appeared in the People Power Party’s platform), are likely to be fast-tracked for implementation.

“Given intensifying global competition, we must make bold investments in cutting-edge industries and future technologies such as AI and deep tech. We are committed to taking proactive steps to position Korea as a global economic leader. (…) We also plan to establish and operate a dedicated organization to oversee regulatory reform.”

President Lee, during a press conference on May 25, 2025

AI Transformation

The new government is expected to place its highest priority on developing the AI industry. During the campaign, President Lee pledged concentrated investment totaling KRW 100 trillion (approximately USD 73 billion depending on exchange rate) in advanced strategic industries such as AI, and placed AI industry development as his top policy agenda, launching an ambitious “AI for All” project. He also promised to strengthen the development and investment in next-generation AI infrastructure (e.g., securing a large number of GPUs), AI semiconductors, and quantum information & communication technology. He further pledged to improve related laws and systems, enhance the role of the National AI Committee, establish a Senior Secretary for AI and ICT Policy within the presidential office, strengthen future AI education, and foster AI talent. Overall, we anticipate the government to actively lead numerous initiatives that may influence various stakeholders across the AI industry.

Alongside its efforts to promote AI growth, the new administration is also expected to pursue policies aimed at ensuring AI safety. President Lee’s campaign pledged to foster a trustworthy media environment for the AI era, enhance data privacy protections on par with advancements in AI, and proactively tackle emerging forms of voice phishing and other abuses of AI technology. Notably, President Lee’s campaign also pledged to promptly establish subordinate regulations under the AI Basic Act, and businesses would be advised to closely monitor how the administration approaches the AI Basic Act scheduled to take effect in January 2026.
Platform Regulation

To foster a trustworthy media environment, President Lee pledged to enhance the responsibility of platforms to monitor and address fake news, extreme content, hate speech, and anti-social or unconstitutional content. He also pledged to form a national consultative body to integrate and improve broadcast and media governance and legislation and to revise the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Korea Communications Commission to strengthen the expertise of the Korea Communications Commission (“KCC”). Considering the foregoing, online platform businesses should expect amendments to current platform regulations.

Furthermore, with the ongoing debate around the enactment of a new Online Platform Act and the Democratic Party’s historical advocacy for ex-ante regulation of dominant platforms, President Lee’s campaign specifically pledged to enact such Online Platform Act aimed at preventing, among others, the abuse of monopolistic power and anticompetitive practices by large domestic and international platforms. Under such act, there is a strong likelihood of mandatory reporting of domestic revenue for large platform companies, a measure that appears to specifically target overseas platform operators.

A significant focus will also be placed on establishing a “fair network use contract system” – the primary goal of which is to establish a more formalized and regulated framework for how internet network capacity and traffic are accounted for and paid for by all parties, particularly focusing on the role and contributions of large content providers (both domestic and international) to network costs.
Data Protection and Privacy

The Personal Information Protection Commission (“PIPC”), which already oversees a privacy regulatory environment widely regarded as one of the most stringent in the world, is expected to have its role further strengthened. Given that the campaign pledges include both “redefining and strengthening the role of the PIPC” and “normalizing the KCC and enhancing its professional capacity,” such efforts could potentially lead to overlapping jurisdictional issues, creating complexities for businesses navigating data protection regulations across different agencies and requiring careful attention to compliance.
Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity will receive elevated importance, particularly in the wake of recent high-profile hacking incidents (e.g., a USIM hacking case involving a major telecommunications company, data breach cases of multinational brands, etc.). New initiatives and strengthened frameworks may be introduced to enhance national cybersecurity infrastructure and protocols. For instance, with “building a nation safe from cyber threats” as one of the key agenda items for public safety, the policy platform proposes to shift the cybersecurity framework from a traditional network-based approach to a data-centric protection system to better safeguard against data breaches. It also emphasizes increased transparency through mandatory disclosure of cybersecurity investments and the number of dedicated cybersecurity personnel. In cases of significant personal data breaches, companies could face mandatory, nationwide notification requirements. These proposals indicate that the new administration’s cybersecurity priorities will likely center on building more proactive and resilient response systems and may lead to heightened compliance obligations for companies.
Media Policy and Governance

During his campaign, President Lee pledged to address regulatory imbalances (so-called reverse discrimination) between legacy media (e.g., broadcasting) and new forms of media (e.g., OTTs), as well as establishing a legal framework for promoting and regulating new types of media platform and content.

The campaign pledges also included the potential restructuring of the KCC. Based on such pledges, we anticipate the new administration will pursue changes to media policy and governance, which could affect licensing, content regulation, and market competition in areas such as broadcasting, streaming, and digital content distribution.
Contribution to Funds

Korean broadcasters and carriers, which are currently obligated to contribute to the Information and Communications Promotion Fund and the Broadcasting and Communications Development Fund, have consistently maintained that online service providers should likewise be required to make contributions. Given that the campaign pledges called for consolidating these two funds into a single “Media and Telecommunications Development Fund,” it would be important to monitor whether this restructuring could involve an expansion of the businesses required to contribute.
Other Notable Policy Points

–	Diplomacy and Trade President Lee is expected to pursue “pragmatic diplomacy” as a guiding principle to adapt to the evolving global trade environment. In line with this approach, he will likely make efforts to strengthen trade relations with other countries – prioritizing supply chain stability, science and technologies, and the new global environmental trade dynamics shaped by the climate crisis. In particular, he has pledged to strengthen comprehensive and strategic alliance with the United States, especially with respect to military and advanced science and technology. President Lee also stated that he will continue future-oriented cooperation with Japan, and closely work together to maintain and solidify the Korea-US-Japan trilateral relationship. Regarding North Korea, President Lee plans to maintain stable relations with China and Russia, restore consultation channels with the United States, reduce tensions, and promote inter-Korean dialogue and US-North Korea talks. He also stated that he will maintain stable relations with China, given its impact on security on the Korean Peninsula.
–	Fair Trade The new administration is expected to pursue policies that reduce the gap between large corporations and SMEs, and strictly respond to unfair trade practices. President Lee emphasized strict actions against technology theft from SMEs and pledged to enact the Online Platform Act. He also proposed to improve the rights and responsibilities of large platform companies, reinforce social and economic accountability, and enact supplementary bans against forced in-app payments. He pledged to grant collective bargaining rights to franchisees, agents, subcontractors, and online platform sellers, and give SMEs negotiation rights.
–	Labor The new government is expected to pursue various measures to protect workers. President Lee promised to promote amendments to the Trade Union Act (often referred to as the “Yellow Envelope Act” in Korea), legally ban comprehensive wage systems, introduce a wage distribution system for equal pay for equal work, promote industrial, sectoral, and regional collective bargaining, institutionalize permanent employee representative committees, and enhance integrated safety and health management systems for contractors and subcontractors. He also pledged to reduce average working hours to below the OECD average, introduce a 4.5-day work week, activate annual leave, and implement a minimum rest period system.
–	Taxation President Lee pledged to establish new tax incentives to promote domestic production of national strategic industries, offer tax benefits for culture content, R&D investment in defense exporters, and for OTT content producers, all as part of policies to nurture key future industries, and the administration will likely seek to secure new tax revenues to fund these initiatives. He also stated a plan to review tax exemption systems to optimize tax expenditures and secure resources, suggesting potential changes to existing tax support structures and operations. Furthermore, there is a potential shift in the tax audit approach for large corporations compared to the previous administration, which saw fewer tax investigations. This could mean increased scrutiny and potential for more frequent tax audits for larger TMT entities.
–	Climate Response, Energy The new government is expected to formulate energy policies centered on eco-friendly renewable energy. President Lee pledged to establish the Ministry of Climate and Energy, enact the Carbon Neutrality Industry Act, create a global climate crisis response control tower, and strengthen support for carbon neutrality industries. He further pledged to build “energy highways” centered on renewable energy, develop and expand the electricity grid, build smart grid infrastructure, expand and secure flexibility resources through long-duration BESS and mobile ESS, expand R&D and investment for sector coupling, and provide tax support for solar and wind power as national strategic technologies. He also pledged to strengthen support for SMEs to transition to carbon neutrality and to enact laws to support regions affected by coal power plant closures.

For a detailed breakdown of President Lee’s TMT-related campaign platforms, please see the Appendix (attached below).

4.	What to Watch Next The coming weeks and months will be critical in understanding the precise direction and impact of the new administration.

National Agenda Formulation

The initial focus will be on formulating the specific “National Tasks” for the new administration. It is imperative to monitor these details closely for concrete policy actions and their implications for the TMT sector. These tasks will serve as the administration’s blueprint for its five-year term.
Cabinet Appointments and Key Personnel

The initial Cabinet and key personnel are expected to be named swiftly. Historically, confirmation hearings are completed within a short timeframe (e.g., 54 days), indicating a rapid transition. The individuals appointed to these critical roles will significantly shape the implementation of TMT policies.
Further Policy Specification

Anticipate more detailed policy announcements and legislative drafts affecting businesses overseas in the coming months as the administration solidifies its agenda. These will provide the concrete regulatory changes that TMT companies will need to adapt to.

Conclusion

The election of President Lee Jae-myung will lead to a shift in Korea’s TMT regulatory landscape, and we recommend proactive engagement and close monitoring of these evolving policy developments to ensure compliance, mitigate risks, and identify new opportunities. Businesses should begin assessing their current operations against the anticipated policy changes.

Attachment Appendix_Democratic Party’s Election Pledges for the TMT Sector.pdf

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