In this photo taken March 10, 2022, Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party leaves his residence in Seoul after he was elected president over Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
SEOUL, March. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — The presidential election won by main opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol set a variety of new records.
First off, the conservative candidate won the election by the smallest number of votes against the progressive contender.
Varying results from a number of public opinion surveys prevented election authorities from choosing the most likely winner until hours after polls closed.
Normally, the outcome of the election, along with prospects on the new president-elect, would come out on election day between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. at the latest, based on exit polls and tallying votes.
This year, however, the candidates had to wait until 3:50 a.m.
More than 98 percent of the votes had already been counted when the media outlets were finally able to announce that Yoon was the de facto president-elect.
The president-elect himself set a number of new records.
Yoon is the first president without any prior experience of winning a seat at the national assembly since 1987.
He’s the only president who was born in Seoul, graduated from Seoul National University’s School of Law and worked as a prosecutor, winning his first bid in an elected government position.
The new first lady Kim Keon-hee is the first spouse of a candidate not to participate in the entire course of their presidential campaign.
Aside from former president Park Geun-hye, who was single, this is the first time where the spouse of a presidential candidate did not participate in any official events.
Kim is also the first ‘first lady’ to have a job.
While it is still unclear whether she will keep her position as head of an exhibition planning company called Cobana Contents, many expect her to engage in social events using her expertise in the field of arts and exhibitions.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
