SEOUL: South Korea’s liberal party candidate Lee Jae-myung is projected to win the country’s snap presidential election, according to projections by the country’s broadcasters on Tuesday (Jun 3).
Results of the surveys by the country’s broadcasters, which Reuters has not independently confirmed, were released after nearly 80 per cent of the country’s 44.39 million eligible voters had cast their ballots.
South Koreans are hoping to put six months of turmoil from ousted leader Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law decree behind them and for a reversal in the ebbing fortunes of Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
The joint exit poll by broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS, which has in previous elections mostly been in line with the final results, put Lee on 51.7 per cent and his conservative rival Kim Moon-soo on 39.3 per cent.
A separate survey by broadcaster JTBC put Lee on 50.6 per cent and Kim on 39.4 per cent. Channel A also predicted a Lee win by similar margins.
After being impeached by parliament in December, Yoon was removed from office by the Constitutional Court on Apr 4, less than three years into his five-year term, triggering the snap election that now stands to remake the country’s political leadership and foreign policies.
Lee had called the election “judgment day” against the previous Yoon administration and the conservative People Power Party, accusing them of having condoned the martial law attempt by not fighting harder to thwart it and even trying to save Yoon’s presidency.
“I hope the issues surrounding martial law are addressed more clearly and transparently,” said 40-year-old Seoul resident Kim Yong-Hyun. “There are still many things that don’t make sense, and I’d like to see them properly resolved.”
Park Chan-dae, acting leader of DP, told KBS that the party was holding out for the votes to be officially counted, but that the projections suggest voters rejected the martial law attempt and are hoping for an improvement in their livelihoods.
“I think people made a fiery judgment against the insurrection regime,” he said.
The winner must tackle challenges including a society deeply scarred by divisions made more obvious since the attempt at military rule, and an export-heavy economy reeling from unpredictable protectionist moves by the United States, a major trading partner and a security ally.
If the exit polls’ projections are accurate, Lee should be on course to officially become president when the National Election Commission declares the winner sometime on Wednesday, immediately taking power, including becoming commander-in-chief of the military.
NEED FOR CHANGE
Both Lee and his conservative rival Kim Moon-soo pledged change for the country, saying the political system and economic model set up during its rise as a budding democracy and industrial power are no longer fit for purpose.
Their proposals for investment in innovation and technology often overlapped, but Lee advocated more equity and help for mid- to low-income families while Kim campaigned on giving businesses more freedom from regulations and labour strife.
Overshadowing any social policy initiatives, however, was Yoon’s brief attempt to impose martial law that has loomed large over the poll.
Kim was Yoon’s labour minister when the former president declared martial law on Dec 3.
He has branded Lee a “dictator” and his Democratic Party a “monster”, warning if the former human rights lawyer becomes president, nothing will stop them from working together to amend laws simply because they do not like them.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/lee-jae-myung-win-south-korea-presidential-election-exit-polls-5164236
