Officials of the liberal Democratic Party are joyous at the National Assembly in Seoul on June 3, 2025, after the result of exit polls showed the party’s presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myung, leading Kim Moon-soo, the presidential candidate of the conservative People Power Party, in the presidential election that began the same day. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 3 (Korea Bizwire) – Democratic Party (DP) candidate Lee Jae-myung was projected to win the presidential election by a wide margin Tuesday, four polls showed, as vote counting got under way.
According to a joint exit poll by broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS, Lee of the liberal DP was leading conservative People Power Party (PPP) candidate Kim Moon-soo 51.7 percent to 39.3 percent.
Three other polls by JTBC, Channel A and MBN, which were conducted starting up to four days before Election Day, also projected Lee would win around 50 percent of the vote against Kim’s 38.9 percent to 41.7 percent.
Trailing in third place was Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party, who was projected to win between 7.7 percent and 8.7 percent.
The election took place exactly six months after former President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in a surprise announcement that evoked dark memories of past military regimes and plunged the nation into the worst economic and political crisis in decades.
The DP’s Lee campaigned on a pledge to overcome the “insurrection forces” led by Yoon in the wake of his impeachment and removal from office less than three years into his five-year term.
Kim seized on Lee’s many ongoing trials and aggressive leadership style to promise a future free of “dictatorship.”
As the exit poll results were announced, DP campaign officials and leaders erupted in applause and cheers inside the situation room set up at the National Assembly.
“I believe the sovereign people have passed a severe judgment on the insurrection regime,” Rep. Park Chan-dae, the DP election committee leader, told KBS.
PPP officials, in contrast, were visibly disappointed as their hopes for an upset victory appeared unlikely to materialize.
“I expected us to be slightly behind or slightly ahead within the margin of error and it’s very disappointing that there was such a large gap,” Rep. Na Kyung-won, a PPP election committee co-chief, told KBS. “It’s coming across as quite a shock.”
Of the total 44.39 million eligible voters nationwide, some 35.24 million, or 79.4 percent, had cast their ballots, the highest rate since the 1997 election when the turnout came to 80.7 percent, according to the National Election Commission (NEC).
The provisional tally counted the votes cast at 14,295 polling stations across the country, during two days of early voting, as well as overseas, shipboard and absentee ballots.
Officials of the conservative People Power Party look dejected at the National Assembly in Seoul on June 3, 2025, after the result of exit polls showed the party’s presidential candidate, Kim Moon-soo, losing to Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the liberal Democratic Party, in the presidential election that began the same day. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Voter interest was keen in the snap election, as 34.74 percent of the registered voters had already cast their ballots in the early voting held on Thursday and Friday, the second-highest figure since early voting was introduced in 2014.
While the two main contenders cast their ballots during the early voting period, other major political figures voted on Election Day.
Former President Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, cast their ballots at a polling station in southern Seoul.
Vote counting began soon after polls closed at 8 p.m. A winner is expected to emerge around midnight, though the vote count will likely be completed around 6 a.m. Wednesday, according to the NEC.
Once the vote count is completed, the NEC will convene a plenary meeting sometime between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. to formally approve the election results.
As the election is being held early to replace Yoon, the new president will take office immediately without a transition period.
The inauguration ceremony will likely take place hours later at the National Assembly, though details will be confirmed after the president-elect is determined.
A total of five candidates vied for the nation’s top political office after two dropped out during the campaign.
Aside from Lee Jae-myung, Kim and Lee Jun-seok, they were Kwon Young-guk of the Democratic Labor Party and Song Jin-ho, an independent.
Surveys conducted before the blackout on all nationwide polls last week showed the DP’s Lee maintaining a comfortable lead of around 10 percentage points over Kim, although the gap had narrowed from earlier.
Support for Lee was in the 40 percent range, followed by 30-something percent for Kim and around 10 percent for Lee Jun-seok.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik voted at a polling station in northern Seoul, saying he hopes the nation overcomes the political “chaos” and moves toward a “democratic society” through the election.
In the closely watched vote, the Seoul Metropolitan Police said it had received 81 reports of alleged election law violations as of 3 p.m.
One incident involved a red balloon bearing the phrase “President Kim Moon-soo,” which was placed near a polling station in southern Seoul where Yoon had cast his ballot earlier in the day.
Election laws prohibit any acts of support for or opposition to a particular party or candidate within 100 meters of a polling station. Violators are subject to a maximum fine of 30 million won (US$21,700) or up to five years in prison.
Both Lee and Kim have made economic growth their No. 1 campaign promise, with an emphasis on nurturing the artificial intelligence industry.
On security issues, Lee has vowed to pursue “pragmatic” diplomacy in response to the changing global order, while Kim has stressed building deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear threats.
Lee and Kim agree on the need to revise the Constitution to replace the current single five-year presidential term with a four-year, two-term system.
Kim has pledged to cut short his own term to three years to align the president’s term with those of National Assembly members beginning in 2028.
Lee, however, has called for holding a referendum on amendments to the Constitution and applying the changes starting in 2030.
(Yonhap)
