South Korea opposition’s Lee Jae-myung to win presidential election: Exit polls | World News

South Korea voted for a new president on Tuesday, with exit polls published shortly after voting ended at 8 pm local time, showing liberal Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party (DP) set to riding the wave of public angst about economy and political instability to a victory.📌Projected winner: Liberal party candidate Lee Jae-myung is projected to win South Korea’s snap presidential election, with multiple exit polls giving him a decisive lead over conservative rival Kim Moon-soo.
📌Exit poll figures: A joint exit poll South Korea’s main broadcasters (KBS, MBC, SBS) gave Lee 51.7 per cent of the vote, while Kim stood at 39.3 per cent. Other polls JTBC and Channel A reported similar margins.
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📌High voter turnout: Approximately 78 per cent of the 44.39 million eligible voters participated in the election, indicating strong public interest amid recent political turmoil.
📌Reason for snap election: The snap vote was triggered after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached Parliament in December, setting off six months of turmoil, and ultimately formally removed the Constitutional Court on April 4, prompting an election to be called two years early.
📌Martial law controversy: Yoon’s downfall followed a shock imposition of brief martial law, which caused a constitutional crisis and deepened political divides in the country.
📌Lee’s campaign message: Lee Jae-myung framed the election as a “judgement day” against Yoon and the conservative People Power Party, accusing them of enabling or ignoring the martial law incident.Story continues below this ad
📌Immediate transition of power: If Lee’s victory is confirmed, he will immediately assume presidential powers, reportedly on Wednesday, including the role of commander-in-chief of the military, once the National Election Commission announces official results.