Key Points
- The opposition's Lee Jae-myung has won South Korea's snap presidential election.
- The election came after former president Yoon Suk Yeol imposed martial law, leading to his impeachment and removal.
- Nearly 80 per cent of South Korea's 44.39 million eligible voters participated — the highest turnout since 1997.
South Korea's liberal party candidate, Lee Jae-myung, was elected president in a snap election, six months to the day after he evaded military cordons to vote against a shock martial law decree imposed by his predecessor.
Lee's victory is poised to usher in a political change in Asia's fourth-largest economy, following the backlash against the martial law that brought down Yoon Suk Yeol, the conservative outsider who narrowly defeated Lee in the 2022 election.
Nearly 80 per cent of South Korea's 44.39 million eligible voters cast their ballots, the highest turnout for a presidential election in the country since 1997. Lee termed the polls "judgment day" against Yoon's stance on martial law and the People Power Party's (PPP) failure to distance itself from that decision.
With more than 99 per cent of the votes counted, the Democratic Party's Lee Jae-myung stood at 49.3 per cent to PPP candidate Kim Moon-soo's 41.3 per cent, according to National Election Commission data.
A subdued Kim conceded the race and congratulated Lee in brief remarks to reporters.
Lee had long been favoured to win, and his supporters erupted in cheers as exit polls by the country's major broadcasters showed him defeating Kim by wide margins.
In a brief speech to supporters gathered outside parliament after the polls closed, the former human rights lawyer said he would fulfil the duties of the office and bring unity to the country.
"We can overcome this temporary difficulty with the combined strength of our people, who have great capabilities," Lee said.
He also vowed to revive the economy and seek peace with nuclear-armed North Korea through dialogue and strength.
The martial law decree and the six months of ensuing turmoil, which resulted in three different acting presidents and multiple criminal insurrection trials for Yoon and several top officials, marked a political self-destruction for the former leader and effectively handed the presidency to his main rival.
Yoon was impeached by the Lee-led parliament and then removed from office by the Constitutional Court in April, less than three years into his five-year term, triggering a snap election that now stands to remake the country's political leadership and foreign policies as a key United States ally.
Kim was Yoon's labour minister when the former president declared martial law on 3 December 2024.
Choi Mi-jeong, 55, a science teacher who gathered outside parliament to hear Lee speak, said: "I was here on December 3 after martial [law] was declared and December 14 when Yoon was impeached."
"Now Lee Jae-myung is becoming president. I hope he will become a leader who supports ordinary people, not vested interests, not a small number of riches."
