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After a high turnout, the exit polls show a close result between the two most likely candidates to occupy the Presidency in South Korea. Conservative Yoon Suk-yeol has a slight lead of just 0.5 percentage points over liberal Lee Jae-myung. The elections took place after an electoral campaign marred by smears and scandals that pitted a progressive former governor against a conservative former prosecutor.
The name of the next president of Asia’s fourth largest economy is on the line after a close electoral contest.
Yoon Suk-yeol, of the conservative People’s Power Party, obtained 48.4% of the vote on March 9, according to an exit poll conducted jointly by three major local media outlets.
Yoon has a slight lead over the liberal Democratic Party of Korea’s candidate, Lee Jae-myung, with 47.8%. However, another poll by cable network JTBC showed Lee ahead with 48.4% to the conservative’s 47.7%.
Although 14 candidates were registered in the elections on March 9, the contest was reduced to the two favorites.
The winner will have a single five-year term ahead of him that will begin on May 10.
Both seek to succeed current President Moon Jae-in, in accordance with the guidelines of the Constitution, which is prohibited from seeking re-election.
The challenges of the new South Korean president
A response to the nuclear threats from its neighbor North Korea and the management of the Covid-19 pandemic that continues to affect the country after two years are at the forefront of the challenges that the new head of state will have to face.
Critics say neither candidate has come up with a clear strategy for how they would ease the threat from Pyongyang and its nuclear weapons. They also note that voters are skeptical about how they would handle international relations amid the rivalry between the United States, their main military ally, and China; as well as how they would address growing economic inequality and skyrocketing home prices.
South Korea’s presidential race is in a dead heat, with exit polls showing the two leading candidates apart by less than a percentage point.
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While Lee and Yoon have some similar economic and welfare policies, their stances diverge on North Korea and other foreign policy issues.
Lee, who has often expressed nationalist views, is calling for exemptions from UN sanctions against the North Korean regime so that economic projects on the peninsula can be revived and hopes to mediate between the North and the US on the nuclear crisis.
Instead, Yoon says he would crack down on Pyongyang’s provocations and seek to boost trilateral security cooperation with Washington and Tokyo.
Regarding the confrontation between Washington and Beijing, its largest trading partner, Lee has indicated that choosing a side would represent a greater threat to the security of his country, although he is inclined to strengthen the alliance with the United States.
On the other hand, the election comes at a time when South Korea is facing a rise in Covid-19 cases, driven especially by the Omicron variant.
This Wednesday, the health authorities reported a new record of 342,446 new infections.
A “nasty choice” campaign
The results will determine between the liberal continuity in the country or the rebound of a conservative opposition, hit after the impeachment of former president Park Geun-hye, amid corruption scandals.
The election campaign was marked by months of ridicule, insults, criticism and clashes between Lee Jae-myung, former governor of Gyeonggi province, South Korea’s most populous province, and his main challenger, former conservative prosecutor Yoon Suk Yeol.
The behavior of the two favorites created one of the most bitter political campaigns in recent history, which aggravated the already deep internal divisions in the country. The contest was described by many in the country as a “nasty election”.
“No one around me seems happy to vote for Lee or Yoon (…) We need a leader who is really dedicated to improving the lives of working-class citizens,” Jeong Eun-yeong, a Seoul resident, said on voting day. , who added that he was debating which candidate was “the lesser of two evils.”
South Korean presidential candidates Yoon Suk-yeol and Lee Jae-myung are neck-and-neck in the polls.
The conservative Yoon has positioned himself as a hawk on North Korea, while the progressive Lee is expected to pursue similar polices to Moon Jae-in.https://t.co/Ykg855eHXN
— NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) March 9, 2022
In addition, Moon’s liberal Democratic Party is fighting to protect and continue its agenda, as well as to avoid Yoon’s threats to investigate the outgoing administration for alleged bribery if he is the winner.
The two presidents before Moon, including Park, were jailed after leaving office. Moon faces no specific accusations of wrongdoing, but some of his closest aides have been embroiled in corruption scandals.
“Despite the importance of this year’s elections, the contest has focused too much on negative campaigning,” said Jang Seung-Jin, a professor at Kookmin University in Seoul, adding that none of the main candidates presented a plan. convincing about how they would lead the country.
The electoral authorities indicate that the final count of the votes may take longer than usual due to an extended voting time that was granted to Covid-19 patients. The name of the new South Korean leader may not be confirmed until Friday morning local time.
With Reuters, AP and EFE