This Dark Horse Could Take Korea in a New Direction

It's a key question in Asian politics: Who will succeed Kim Dae Jung as President of South Korea? The 79-year-old former dissident has used his five-year term to introduce key economic reforms. But recent scandals so tarred his administration that opposition Grand National Party candidate Lee Hoi Chang looked like a shoo-in as next President.

Now a dark horse has emerged from the ranks of Kim's Millennium Democratic Party. Roh Moo Hyun, 55, a left-leaning labor and human rights lawyer, has beaten all contenders in the MDP primaries ended Apr. 27. And he's leading Lee by 10 to 20 percentage points in the polls. As a result, in the December presidential election "Korean voters will have the widest choice ever," says Yoon Young O, dean of the Graduate School of Politics at Seoul's Kookmin University.