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Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative former top prosecutor, appeared close to winning South Korea's presidential election on Thursday, defeating an outspoken ruling liberal party candidate in one of the country's most closely fought elections.
With more than 92 per cent of the ballots counted as of 2:55 a.m. local time Thursday, Yoon had a narrow lead with 48.64 per cent of the votes compared to Lee Jae-myung's 47.8 per cent. Yoon has been maintaining such a razor-thin lead for a few hours. South Korean media outlets including the country's biggest TV station, KBS, predicted Yoon will likely win.
The election boiled down to a two-way showdown between Yoon from the opposition People Power Party and Lee from the governing Democratic Party. They spent months slamming, mocking and demonizing each other in one of the most bitter political campaigns in recent memory, aggravating the country's already severe domestic divisions.
About 44 million South Koreans aged 18 or older were eligible to vote, out of the country's 52 million people. About 16 million cast ballots during early voting last week.
The tentative turnout was 77.1 per cent after polls closed Wednesday, the fifth highest ever since the country restored direct presidential elections in 1987 following decades of military dictatorship, according to the National Election Commission.
Huge victory for the South Korean Republican Party.
With more than 92 per cent of the ballots counted as of 2:55 a.m. local time Thursday, Yoon had a narrow lead with 48.64 per cent of the votes compared to Lee Jae-myung's 47.8 per cent. Yoon has been maintaining such a razor-thin lead for a few hours. South Korean media outlets including the country's biggest TV station, KBS, predicted Yoon will likely win.
The election boiled down to a two-way showdown between Yoon from the opposition People Power Party and Lee from the governing Democratic Party. They spent months slamming, mocking and demonizing each other in one of the most bitter political campaigns in recent memory, aggravating the country's already severe domestic divisions.
About 44 million South Koreans aged 18 or older were eligible to vote, out of the country's 52 million people. About 16 million cast ballots during early voting last week.
The tentative turnout was 77.1 per cent after polls closed Wednesday, the fifth highest ever since the country restored direct presidential elections in 1987 following decades of military dictatorship, according to the National Election Commission.
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www.cbc.ca
Huge victory for the South Korean Republican Party.