Nothing about Lee Jae-myung’s political rise has been easy. Born the fifth of seven children to a farming family, Lee walked 10 miles round trip to elementary school daily, and later had his wrist crushed in a pressing machine while working underage in a factory. After stints as a mayor and governor, Lee lost South Korea’s 2022 presidential election to Yoon Suk-yeol, and was stabbed in the neck two years later by a deranged critic. Now, the unlikely arc of Lee’s story seems poised to end with his becoming his country’s next leader. Lee led the charge for Yoon’s impeachment following the then President’s declaration of martial law in December, livestreaming himself climbing the National Assembly fence to bypass a police blockade to help repeal the order. As leader of South Korea’s opposition, Lee is the clear favorite to win the coming election, though his reward will be dealing with an increasingly belligerent North Korea and an escalating trade war. Given the challenges he’s already overcome, there’s little chance Lee is cowed. “There are many ways that you can learn about the world,” Lee told TIME in 2022. “But actually living it yourself, experiencing it, is a different thing.”
Campbell is a TIME editor-at-large