The South Korean government may well lean toward the left regardless of who wins the Dec. 19 presidential election, triggering concern among South Korean business leaders that they could be heading into another "black decade."
The conservative incumbent president, Lee Myung Bak, came to power in 2008 after the nation's economy had stagnated for 10 years under his two predecessors — Kim Dae Jung from 1998 to 2003 and Roh Moon Hyun from 2003 to 2008.
But his rate of approval has plummeted sharply of late due partly to scandals surrounding his top aides, casting doubts about the chances of Park Geun Hye, of the ruling New Frontier Party, succeeding him.