South Korea’s election of unlikeables has entered into full swing, in a race defined by scandal, skulduggery and ad hominem attacks on the part of the two principal contenders — Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party and Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party.

Polling predictions suggest a close contest. Yet it remains to be seen whether the victory of either candidate will lead to a significant change in Seoul’s foreign and North Korea policy. As the scholar Robert Jervis once suggested, domestic and international factors can conspire to socialize leaders once in