SEOUL: South Korea's liberal party candidate Lee Jae-myung is projected to win snap presidential election by wide margins, according to exit polls, ushering in a political sea change after backlash against martial law brought down his predecessor. 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.
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. — Reuters
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