South Korea's "Bernie Sanders", to benefit from anti-establishment sentiment

[Donkees]

Excerpts:

An anti-establishment wave that aided Brexit, fueled the rise of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump and sparked the resignation of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has now spread to South Korea, where voters are warming up to a politician who likens himself to Bernie Sanders.

Lee (Jae-myung), mayor of a city near Seoul called Seongnam, has advocated policies to reduce the income gap between rich and poor as well as plans to break up chaebols, the family-run conglomerates that dominate South Korea's economy and are frequently embroiled in bribery and corruption cases. Hailing from the liberal Minjoo Party, Lee said in a recent Facebook post that he wanted to be called a successful Bernie Sanders.

Interestingly, another potential participant in the 2017 race has also been dubbed as a Korean Bernie Sanders. Ahn Cheol-soo, who ran in the 2012 election as an independent candidate, has earned comparisons with the Vermont senator for his recommended reforms in the education, welfare and chaebol sector. Ahn, a former software tycoon, co-founded the opposition People's Party early this year but resigned in June for the party's alleged involvement in a kickback scandal.

While Ahn was not implicated, the incident has weighed on his popularity; he ranked fourth place in the Gallup Korea poll, with just 8 percent support.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/12/lee-jae-myung-south-koreas-bernie-sanders-to-benefit-from-anti-establishment-sentiment.html