Lee Myung-bak - Presidency

Presidency

In spite of the lowest voter turnout ever for a presidential election in South Korea, Lee won the presidential election in December 2007 with 48.7% of the vote which was considered to be a landslide. He took the oath of office February 25, 2008, vowing to revitalize the economy, strengthen relations with the United States and "deal with" North Korea. Specifically, Lee declared that he would pursue a campaign of “global diplomacy” and seek further cooperative exchanges with regional neighbors Japan, China, and Russia. Furthermore, he pledged to strengthen South Korea–United States relations and implement a tougher policy with regards to North Korea, ideas that are promoted as the MB Doctrine.

Lee stated that he wanted to restore better relations with the United States through a greater emphasis on free market solutions.

Two months after his inauguration, Lee's approval ratings stood at 28%, and by June 2008 they had reached 17%. Bush and Lee also discussed the ratification of the South Korea–United States Free Trade Agreement or KORUS FTA, which faces opposition from legislators in both countries. While it was expected that Lee's agreement during the summit to partially lift the ban on US beef imports would remove the obstacles in approving the KORUS FTA in the US, many Koreans protested the resumption of U.S. beef imports.

As protests escalated, the Korean government issued a statement warning that violent protesters would be punished and measures would be taken to stop clashes between police and protesters. The protest continued for more than two months and the original purpose of the candlelight vigils against U.S. beef imports has been replaced by others, such as opposition to the privatization of public companies, education policy, construction of the Canal. The damages caused by protesters to the businesses around the demonstration and the social cost reached approximately 3,751,300,000,000 won.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Lee's plan to privatize public companies was a modest but "perhaps important step" toward reform.

As the government gained more stability, the approval rating of Lee's administration rose to 32.8%. Since the resumption of U.S. beef imports, more people are buying U.S. beef and now it has the second largest market share in Korea, after Australian beef.

Lee's approval ratings have reflected public perception of Korea's economic situation in the wake of the global economic meltdown. Signs of a strengthening economy and a landmark $40 billion deal won by a Korean consortium to build nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates have boosted Lee's popularity. His approval rating in January 2010 stood at 51.6%. However, Lee's popularity fell sharply through the last year of his presidency, with his approval rating at approximately 20% in May 2012.

Former president, Kim Young-sam had expressed negative outlooks on Lee Myung-bak's role as the president and his influence between South Korea and Japan according to a Wikileaks file. As of late 2011, Lee's administration has had a series of corruption allegations surrounding certain high ranking government employees.