South Korea holds a snap presidential election Tuesday. Here's what to know

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — After months of political turmoil, South Korea will elect a new president this week to succeed conservative Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted over his brief but shocking imposition of martial law.

Surveys suggested liberal Lee Jae-myung is heavily favored to win Tuesday's snap election, riding on a wave of public disappointment of Yoon’s martial law debacle in December. The main conservative candidate, Kim Moon Soo, wants a come-from-behind victory, but observers say his refusal to directly criticize Yoon made it difficult for him to narrow the gap with Lee.

The winner will be sworn in as president on Wednesday without the typical two-month transition period. The new leader faces the urgent tasks of trying to heal the deep domestic divide over Yoon's action as well as focusing on U.S. President Donald Trump's America-first policy and North Korea’s advancing nuclear program.

Lee, who represents the main liberal Democratic Party, is the favorite to win the elections. In three Gallup Korea surveys released last week, 46% to 49% of respondents picked Lee as their choice for next president, giving him a comfortable lead over Kim with 35% to 37%.

Lee narrowly lost the 2022 election to Yoon, and spearheaded parliament’s two votes to overturn Yoon’s martial law decree and impeach him, before the Constitutional Court formally dismissed him in April.

Lee’s outspoken criticism of South Korea's conservative establishment and calls to punish those involved in Yoon's martial law enactment have caused worries among his opponents that Lee's election would further polarize the country.

Kim, a former labor minister under Yoon, has fought an uphill battle against Lee as his People Power Party struggles to restore public confidence. Kim's opposition to Yoon's impeachment and reluctance to explicitly criticize the disgraced leader drove him away from moderate voters, analysts say.

Three other politicians are running for the presidency, including Lee Jun-seok of the small conservative New Reform Party, who has categorically rejected Kim's request to field a unified candidate between them to prevent a split in conservative votes.

The election has got ugly, with candidates levelling damaging statements, personal attacks and even sexually offensive language against each other without unveiling clear, long-term visions for South Korea.

During last week's televised debate, Lee Jae-myung labelled Kim as "Yoon Suk Yeol’s avatar,” while Kim called Lee a “harbinger of monster politics and dictatorship.” Lee Jun-seok faced withering public criticism after he used graphic references to women’s bodies to criticize Lee Jae-myung's son over his purported sexually explicit online slur targeting a female singer.

Unlike past elections, North Korea's nuclear program hasn't emerged as a hot-button topic, suggesting that most candidates share a view that South Korea has few immediate ways to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons. Dealing with Trump's aggressive tariffs policy hasn't been a divisive issue either.

Kim has instead focused on portraying Lee Jae-myung as a dangerous leader who would likely wield excessive power by putting the judiciary under his control and revising laws to stop his criminal trials. Lee, for his part, has repeatedly questioned Kim's ties with Yoon.

South Korea’s new president will have little time to negotiate with the United States before July 9, when Trump’s 90-day pause on global tariffs expires, potentially exposing South Korean products to 25% tax rates. A U.S. federal court has recently ruled that Trump lacks authority to impose the tariffs, but the White House has appealed, leaving the long-term outcome unclear.

South Korea's outgoing administration was trying to finalize a comprehensive “package” deal with the U.S. by early July to soften the blow to the country’s trade-dependent economy.

Lee has accused government officials of rushing negotiations for short-term political gains and said it wouldn’t serve national interests to obsess over securing an early agreement with Washington. Kim said he would place a priority on a meeting with Trump as soon as possible to resolve trade issues.

The next government in Seoul may also struggle to ease security tensions over North Korea’s advancing nuclear weapons program, which has been complicated by North Korea's support of Russia's war against Ukraine.

Lee has expressed a willingness to improve ties with North Korea but acknowledged that it would be difficult to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un anytime soon. He said he would support Trump's push to resume nuclear diplomacy with North Korea. Kim Moon Soo has promised to build up South Korea's military capability and win stronger U.S. security support, suggesting he would uphold Yoon's hard-line approach on North Korea.

The most pressing domestic issue facing the new president will be a starkly divided nation that had seen millions rallying for months to either support or denounce Yoon.

Yoon had labeled Lee’s party as “anti-state” forces abusing their legislative majority to block his agenda. He also endorsed unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that the liberals had benefited from election fraud, prompting his supporters to rally in the streets with “Stop the Steal” signs.

Lee has issued a message of unity and vowed not to seek political vengeance against his rivals if elected. But his critics doubt that, suspecting Lee could use investigations of Yoon's martial law decree as a vehicle to suppress his opponents.

Yoon’s legal saga is likely to overshadow the early months of Seoul’s next government, as the former president continues to stand trial on high-stakes rebellion charges, which carry a possible sentence of death or life in prison.

FILE - President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein,File)

FILE - Then - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol bows at the end of his announcement at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (South Korean Presidential Office/Yonhap via AP, File)

FILE - National Assembly employees spray a fire extinguisher towards soldiers at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (Cho Da-un/Yonhap via AP, File)

FILE - South Korea's People Power Party's presidential candidate Kim Moon Soo speaks during a presidential election campaign in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

FILE - South Korea's Democratic Party's presidential election candidate Lee Jae-myung, speaks during a presidential election campaign in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.

The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday," the airport's official X account wrote.

A spokesperson for the airport said the pedestrian, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.

“We're stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”

The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”

The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now" before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”

Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.

“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”

Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.

Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted. It is expected to open later today.

The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident nor the name of the employee.

“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” the airline said. "We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”

FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)