Liberal Lee projected to win South Korea’s presidential election | News

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The Democratic Party candidate is projected to hold lead of more than 10 points over conservative rival Kim Moon-soo.

Liberal Lee Jae-myung looks set to win South Korea’s snap presidential election, with exit polls suggesting he enjoys a significant lead.

One exit poll conducted by South Korea’s three major TV stations – KBS, MBC and SBS – showed that Lee is projected to obtain 51.7 percent of the votes cast during Tuesday’s election.

His rival, conservative candidate Kim Moon-soo, trailed with 39.3 percent, in the election, which was called to find a successor for Yoon Suk-yeol, the conservative who was removed from office in April over his ill-fated imposition of martial law late last year.

Another poll by MBN projected Lee will win 49.2 percent of the vote against Kim’s 41.7 percent, according to state news agency Yonhap.

The winning candidate is due to take office as soon as Wednesday, with the unusual circumstances having seen the usual two-month transition period dismissed.

Applause and cheers filled the situation room of the National Assembly, where Democratic Party officials were gathered as the result of the exit poll was announced.

‘Yoon loyalist’

Kim’s poor showing was not helped by the former-Yoon ally’s failure to convince a third-party candidate, Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party, to unify and avoid splitting the right-wing vote.

Al Jazeera’s Jack Barton, reporting from Seoul, said Kim also struggled to distance himself from the scandal around Yoon. The impeached former-president is now facing a criminal trial for insurrection.

“He is seen as a Yoon loyalist,” Barton said.

The long running crisis around Yoon helped mobilise voters, with turnout running at around 77.8 percent by late afternoon, officials said – the highest in nearly two decades.

That could bode well for the winner of the polls, who needs a solid mandate after the political turmoil of the last six months, our correspondent noted.

Security concerns

On election day, Seoul streets were peaceful as people made the most of good weather and a public holiday.

However, police issued the highest level of alert and deployed thousands of officers to ensure that the election went smoothly, with Yoon’s detainment earlier this year and eventual impeachment having sparked angry protests from supporters.

Similar security arrangements are due to carry through for the inauguration on Wednesday.

Lee, who survived an assassination attempt last year, has been campaigning in a bullet-proof vest and delivering speeches behind a glass protective shield.

South Korean presidents serve a single five-year term.