South Koreans go to the polls on Wednesday (9) to choose the new president, in a vote marked by growing social inequality and in which the threat from North Korea has been relegated to the background.
The turnout rate was 65% at 14:00 local time (2:00 GMT), which confirms the interest of voters, despite a campaign marked by attacks between the two favorites: the left-wing candidate Lee Jae-myung, of the Democratic Party – currently in power – and the conservative Yoon Suk-yeol of the People’s Power Party (PPP).
Lee and Yoon appear tied in the polls. The two add up to 90% of the voting intentions, which leaves a small margin for the other ten candidates.
The polling places, which required the use of a mask and alcohol gel, closed at 18:00 (6:00 GMT), but Covid-19 patients could cast their votes until 19:30 (7:30 GMT).
The country, of 52 million people, is currently experiencing a wave of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, with 342,446 new cases recorded this Wednesday.
More than a million South Koreans who have recently tested positive are in isolation in their homes, according to health officials. The electoral law was amended last month to allow them to vote separately at the last hour of the day.
The country also created the possibility of early voting on March 4th and 5th: 37% of the 44 million voters opted for this model.
The two main parties in the dispute are ideologically far apart and, according to analysts, the question is whether voters will turn their backs on the pacifist Democratic Party in favor of the more belligerent PPP.
“What the country needs now is change,” Hong Sung-cheon, 71, told AFP at a polling station in Seoul. “We can’t go on like this.”
– Universal income –
According to polls, rising property prices in Seoul, inequalities and youth unemployment are top concerns for voters.
The new president will also face a more aggressive North Korea, which has carried out a record series of weapons tests this year, including one last Saturday.
Lee, 57, who was governor of the country’s most populous province, proposed measures like universal basic income and free school uniforms.
But he is in the spotlight for a suspicious real estate deal, a case in which two key witnesses committed suicide.
Lee kicked off the campaign, apologizing for offending relatives in a phone call. His wife was accused of embezzling public funds, and he was the subject of rumors about alleged links to the mafia.
His rival, 61-year-old Yoon Suk-yeol, proposes easing labor laws, including minimum wage and working hours.
Her most controversial proposal is to do away with the Ministry of Gender Equality, claiming that, despite evidence to the contrary, South Korean women do not suffer “systemic gender discrimination”.
The law prohibits current President Moon Jae-in from running for a second five-year term. To date, every living former head of state has served time for corruption after leaving office.
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