People wait in line to cast their votes in the presidential election at a polling station in Seoul on March 9, 2022.
(JUNG YEON-JE / AFP)
SEOUL – Lee Jae-myung, the candidate of the ruling Democratic Party, was leading in the South Korean presidential election with 30 percent of the total votes counted, election commission data showed Wednesday.
Lee garnered 49.63 percent of support at 11:42 pm local time (1442 GMT), according to the National Election Commission.
The election was held from 6 am local time to 7:30 pm local time at 14,464 polling stations across the country
Lee was closely trailed by Yoon Suk-yeol of the main conservative People Power Party who gained 47.08 percent.
Sim Sang-jung of the progressive Justice Party fell far behind with support of 2.09 percent.
The final turnout was 77.1 percent, or 34,071,400 voters among the electorate of 44,197,692 people. It was slightly lower than the previous election's 77.2 percent in 2017.
According to the polls compiled by three key broadcasters of KBS, MBC and SBS, Yoon Suk-yeol of the opposition People Power Party garnered 48.4 percent of support, leading Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party by a narrow margin.
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South Korea's presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party gestures to supporters during an election campaign rally in Seoul on March 8, 2022, ahead of the March 9 presidential election.
(JUNG YEON-JE / AFP)
The presidential race has been neck-and-neck as voters are obviously divided over the transfer of power.
The Democratic Party supporters wished Lee inherit the current government of President Moon Jae-in.
Conservative voters supported Yoon for the transfer of the presidential power to the conservative bloc.
The election was held from 6 am local time to 7:30 pm local time at 14,464 polling stations across the country.
South Korean election officials sort voting papers for ballot counting in the presidential election at a gymnasium in Seoul on March 9, 2022.
(HONG YOON-GI / AFP)
COVID-19 patients and those in self-quarantine were allowed to cast ballots separately for the last one and a half hours.
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An early voting, which was adopted in 2013 and first applied to the 2014 local election, was carried out from March 4 to March 5.