Just hours after winning the South Korean presidency, Lee Jae-myung pledged to "unite the people" in his inauguration speech on Wednesday. Lee enters office at a time when the country is still grappling with deep divisions, which were further triggered after President Yoon Suk Yeol's shock martial law declaration last December.

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea woke on Wednesday to a new liberal president, Lee Jae-myung, who vowed to raise the country from the turmoil of a martial law crisis and revive an economy reeling from slowing growth and the threat of global protectionism.

The debilitating political vacuum that has reigned in Seoul since South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s impeachment on December 14 has finally ended. On June 3, Lee Jae-myung won South Korea’s presidential election by a decisive margin.