People delivered ‘thunderous judgment,’ says South Korea’s opposition party on snap polls
Public support for presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung ‘reflects their strong desire to recover from collapse of livelihoods,’ says Democratic Party parliamentary leader
Counting of ballots begins on Presidential Election Day in South Korea
ISTANBUL
People have delivered a “thunderous judgment against the insurrectionist regime,” South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party said on Tuesday, as exit polls showed its candidate Lee Jae-myung leading in the snap presidential election.
“The people have delivered a thunderous judgment against the insurrectionist regime," Democratic Party (DP) floor leader Park Chan-dae told public broadcaster KBS.
His remarks came as exit polls showed DP’s Lee Jae-myung garnering over 50% support in the election held on Tuesday, which saw 79.4% voting participation, highest in 28 years, according to Yonhap news agency.
Last presidential election in April 2022 saw 77.1% voter turnout, while the 1997 election recorded 80.7%.
“I believe the public support for Lee reflects their strong desire to recover from the collapse of livelihoods and the runaway economy that have worsened over the past three years under the Yoon government," he said.
The snap election was triggered after parliament impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol for declaring martial law on Dec. 13.
Yoon was ousted from office in April after Constitutional Court upheld the parliament impeachment and faces insurrection charges.
While the official results will take hours, and the new president is likely to be confirmed early Wednesday. Exit polls showed Lee’s rival Kim Moon-soo of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) trailing with around 39% support.
Na Kyung-won, standing co-chair of the PPP’s election committee, told KBS the exit poll was “relatively shocking.”
However, she said there had been a “significant gap between exit polls and the actual results in last year’s general election” and said she would “quietly wait for the final outcome.”
Under Lee, the opposition DP won a landslide in the 300-seated parliament.
If he wins, it would be first time that the DP president will have a friendly parliament, which has the powers to veto chief executive’s policies.
And if the exit polls prove accurate that Lee has support of over 50% electorate, the liberal candidate would be only the second Korean president ever to win a clear majority since direct presidential elections began in 1987.
It was Park Geun-hye who won the 2013 election with 51.55% of the vote.
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