As we reported yesterday, in South Korea held a presidential elections. And Lee Jae-myung, the candidate of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), who won the election held after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached in South Korea, officially took office by taking an oath in the Parliament.
The 61-year-old Lee is expected to be sworn in on Wednesday, becoming the country’s 14th president after defeating Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party (PPP). The South Korean president serves a single five-year term without the possibility of re-election.
With 85 percent of the ballots counted, the National Election Commission (NEC) said provisional results showed Lee winning more than 48 percent of the votes with Kim at 42.9 percent.
Although the NEC is yet to formally declare a winner, Kim has conceded defeat and congratulated Lee on his win.
Shortly before Kim’s concession, Lee emerged outside his house in Seoul, where throngs of supporters had gathered. Lee told them he was “highly likely to become the president”.
Nearly 80 percent of the country’s 44.4 million eligible voters cast ballots – the highest turnout since 1997, according to the NEC.
Earlier, exit polls by South Korea’s three major TV stations – KBS, MBC and SBS – projected a comfortable win for Lee. The exit polls projected more than 50 percent of the vote for the opposition candidate and 39 percent for Kim.
