South Koreans go to the polls on Tuesday to choose their next president, a snap vote triggered by ex-leader Yoon Suk Yeol’s disastrous declaration of martial law in December.
The latest Gallup survey show 49 percent of respondents viewing Lee as the best candidate, while Kim Moon-soo, from the conservative People Power Party (PPP) was trailing on 35 percent.
“I saw a presidential aura,“ she explained, adding that she faced “criticism and even threats” for her prediction.
Shamanism has shaped culture and belief on the Korean peninsula for centuries.
But the folk religion has also come under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons -- two presidential impeachments have been linked to undue influence allegedly wielded by shamans.
Ousted ex-leader Yoon and his first lady Kim Keon Hee have also been accused of turning to sketchy shamans when making decisions -- including, it is alleged, the fateful martial declaration.
Claims like that provoke an “intense emotional reaction” in South Korean society -- in part because the country’s history is full of leaders led astray by unscrupulous spiritual advisors, Lee Won-jae, a sociologist at South Korea’s KAIST university, told AFP.
“Mudang” or shaman act as intermediaries between the world of spirits and everyday life.
Hit thrillers like last year’s “Exhuma” -- which features a group of shamans fighting an ancient evil spirit -- have piqued public interest.
Shaman Lee Dong-hyeon, who goes by Ohbangdoryeong -- “guardian of the five directions” -- says he was approached by local politicians after predicting Yoon’s untimely fall three years ago.
Yoon “lacks that destiny”, he said.
- ‘Truth can be uncomfortable’ -
He isn’t so sure that frontrunner Lee will help end South Korea’s political turmoil.
Fellow shaman Hong Myeong-hui agreed that turbulent times could be ahead.
But liberal Lee’s “energy is fast and consuming, like a wildfire in spring”, she said.
“Prophecy isn’t for pleasing people -- it’s for truth. And truth can be uncomfortable.”
No matter if the predictions ring true, what is clear that the new president will have to helm South Korea through a period of economic turbulence, as the trade-dependent nation will be facing steep tariffs from the United States while struggling with sluggish demand at home.
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