Seoul: Democratic Party (DP) candidate Lee Jae-myung was elected President on Wednesday after months of turmoil surrounding the impeachment and ouster of his former opponent over a botched attempt to impose martial law.
Lee's win was a remarkable comeback after having lost to former President Yoon Suk Yeol by a razor-thin margin of less than 1 percentage point in the previous election in 2022.
While Yoon's attempt to impose martial law in December paved the way for Lee's rise to the presidency, it also deepened the nation's political divide and increased the challenges posed by everything from the United States' tariff policies to North Korea's advancing nuclear weapons program, reports Yonhap news agency.
With all votes counted, Lee of the liberal DP won 49.42 per cent of the votes, compared with 41.15 per cent for his conservative People Power Party (PPP) rival Kim Moon-soo.
Lee garnered 17.3 million votes, beating Kim by 2.9 million votes and capturing the highest number of votes in a presidential election, surpassing Yoon's 16.39 million votes in the 2022 election.
About The Promise Made By Democratic Party (DP) Candidate Lee Jae-myung
In a speech in Seoul's Yeouido, home to the National Assembly, Lee promised to "overcome the insurrection" and ensure there is no "military coup," a reference to Yoon's attempt to impose martial law.
"I will fulfil my mission of creating a world where democracy is restored and the people are respected as sovereign in a democratic republic while living together in cooperation with each other," he said on a stage where he was joined by his wife, Kim Hye-kyung.
"The moment I am confirmed as the president-elect, I will put all of my strength into reviving the economy and recovering people's livelihoods," he added.
PPP candidate Kim conceded defeat in a press conference at his party's headquarters, saying he "humbly accepts the people's choice" and congratulated Lee on his election.
Thanking the people for their support, he credited their strength for the advances the country continued to make in the face of crisis.
About The Election
The election took place exactly six months after Yoon declared martial law in a surprise announcement that evoked dark memories of past military regimes and plunged the nation into the worst economic and political crisis in decades.
Lee campaigned on a pledge to overcome the "insurrection forces" led by Yoon in the wake of his impeachment and removal from office less than three years into his five-year term.
Kim seized on Lee's many ongoing trials and aggressive leadership style to promise a future free of "dictatorship."
As an exit poll projected Lee's victory by a 12.4 percentage point margin, DP campaign officials and leaders erupted in applause and cheers inside the situation room set up at the National Assembly.
"I believe the sovereign people have passed a severe judgment on the insurrection regime," Rep. Park Chan-dae, the DP election committee leader, told KBS.
PPP officials, in contrast, were visibly disappointed as their hopes for an upset victory appeared unlikely to materialize.
"I expected us to be slightly behind or slightly ahead within the margin of error and it's very disappointing that there was such a large gap," Rep. Na Kyung-won, a PPP election committee co-chief, told KBS. "It's coming across as quite a shock."
Of the total 44.39 million eligible voters nationwide, some 35.24 million, or 79.4 per cent, had cast their ballots, the highest rate since the 1997 election when the turnout came to 80.7 per cent, according to the National Election Commission (NEC).
The provisional tally counted the votes cast at 14,295 polling stations across the country, during two days of early voting, as well as overseas, shipboard and absentee ballots.
Voter interest was keen in the snap election, as 34.74 per cent of the registered voters had already cast their ballots in the early voting held on Thursday and Friday, the second-highest figure since early voting was introduced in 2014.
Vote counting began soon after polls closed at 8 p.m. and was completed around 6 a.m. Wednesday, according to the NEC.
After completing the vote count, the NEC convened a plenary meeting to confirm Lee's victory.
As the election was held early to replace Yoon, Lee took office immediately without a transition period.
The inauguration ceremony is expected to take place later in the day at the National Assembly.
A total of five candidates vied for the nation's top political office after two dropped out during the campaign.
Aside from Lee and Kim, they were Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party, Kwon Young-guk of the Democratic Labor Party and Song Jin-ho, an independent.
Surveys conducted before the blackout on all nationwide polls last week showed the DP's Lee maintaining a comfortable lead of around 10 percentage points over Kim, although the gap had narrowed from earlier.
Support for Lee was in the 40 per cent range, followed by 30-something per cent for Kim and around 10 per cent for Lee Jun-seok.
Both Lee and Kim made economic growth their No. 1 campaign promise, with an emphasis on nurturing the artificial intelligence industry.
On security issues, Lee vowed to pursue "pragmatic" diplomacy in response to the changing global order, while Kim stressed building deterrence against North Korea's nuclear threats.
Lee and Kim agreed on the need to revise the Constitution to replace the current single five-year presidential term with a four-year, two-term system.
Kim pledged to cut short his own term to three years to align the president's term with those of National Assembly members beginning in 2028.
Lee, however, called for holding a referendum on amendments to the Constitution and applying the changes starting in 2030.
While the two main contenders cast their ballots during the early voting period, other major political figures voted on Election Day.
Former President Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, cast their ballots at a polling station in southern Seoul.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik voted at a polling station in northern Seoul, saying he hopes the nation overcomes the political "chaos" and moves toward a "democratic society" through the election.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
