The Democratic Party candidate is projected to hold lead of more than 10 points over conservative rival Kim Moon-soo.
South Korea’s liberal party candidate Lee Jae-myung led with more than 85 percent of the votes counted in the country’s snap presidential election, six months to the day after he evaded military cordons to vote against a shock martial law decree.
His conservative rival, Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party (PPP), conceded the race and congratulated Lee early Wednesday.
Kim told a news conference that he “humbly accepts [the] people’s choice” and congratulates his liberal rival Lee Jae-myung for winning the election.
Kim spoke as voter turnouts and media projections showed Lee was expected to win the election to succeed Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative who was removed from office in April over his ill-fated brief imposition of martial law.
Nearly 80 percent of South Korea’s 44.39 million eligible voters cast their ballots, the highest turnout for a presidential election in the country since 1997, with Lee terming the polls “judgment day” against Yoon’s martial law and the PPP’s failure to distance itself from that decision.
A joint exit poll by broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS, which has in previous elections mostly been in line with the final results, put Lee on 51.7 percent and Kim on 39.3 percent.
A separate survey by broadcaster JTBC put Lee on 50.6 percent and Kim on 39.4 percent. Channel A also predicted a Lee win by similar margins.
Lee is due to take office as soon as Wednesday, with the unusual circumstances having seen the usual two-month transition period dismissed.
The toughest external challenges awaiting a new president are US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and North Korea’s advancing nuclear program. But experts say whoever becomes president can’t do much to secure major progress in South Korea’s favor on those issues.
Applause and cheers filled the situation room of the National Assembly, where Democratic Party officials were gathered as the result of the exit poll was announced.
Kim’s poor showing was not helped by the former Yoon ally’s failure to convince a third-party candidate, Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party, to unify and avoid splitting the right-wing vote.
Al Jazeera’s Jack Barton, reporting from Seoul, said Kim also struggled to distance himself from the scandal around Yoon. The impeached former president is now facing a criminal trial for insurrection.
“He is seen as a Yoon loyalist,” Barton said.
Lee, who served as governor of Gyeonggi province and mayor of Seongnam city, has been a highly divisive figure in politics for years.
As a former child laborer known for his inspirational rags-to-riches story, Lee came to fame through biting criticism of the country’s conservative establishment and calls to build a more assertive South Korea in foreign policy. That rhetoric has given him an image as someone who can institute sweeping reforms and fix the country’s deep-seated economic inequality and corruption.
On election day, Seoul streets were peaceful as people made the most of good weather and a public holiday.
However, police issued the highest level of alert and deployed thousands of officers to ensure that the election went smoothly, with Yoon’s detention earlier this year and eventual impeachment leading to angry protests from supporters.
Similar security arrangements are due to carry through for the inauguration on Wednesday.
Lee, who survived an assassination attempt last year, campaigned in a bulletproof vest and delivered speeches behind a protective glass shield.
South Korean presidents serve a single five-year term.
