South Korea's incoming president Lee Jae-myung assumes office with a bulging in-tray, from a deepening economic slump and global trade war to mounting concerns over military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow.

He will also have to navigate a mounting superpower standoff between the United States, South Korea's traditional security guarantor, and China, its largest trade partner.

AFP takes a look at the new president's substantial to-do list:

- Trade tensions -

Chief among Lee's priorities will be steering South Korea's export-dependent economy -- Asia's fourth largest -- through economic turmoil sparked by US President Donald Trump and tariffs he has imposed on trading partners.

In the first quarter of the year, South Korea's economy grew less than expected as the export giant and chip

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