Lee Jae-myung is set to become South Korea’s new president after a snap election triggered by a brief period of martial law imposed by the now-impeached former leader Yoon Suk Yeol.
After polls closed in what Lee described as “judgment day” for Asia’s fourth-biggest economy, exit polls put Lee, the Democratic party candidate, comfortably ahead of his closest rival, the conservative Kim Moon-soo 49.2% to 41.7%. With 70% of the vote counted, he was on 48.53%.
Lee, a 61-year-old former human rights lawyer who had made two failed attempts to reach the presidential Blue House, rode a wave of public anger that followed Yoon’s declaration of martial law in early December.
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