Exit poll: Lee on track to become S Korea prez

A victory for Lee Jae-myung, 60, would mark a shift in the country's economic, foreign and energy policies as he takes on a single term five-year presidency

- Bloomberg

SEOUL: South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party nominee Lee Jae-myung is on track to win the presidential election, bringing to an end three tumultuous years of conservative rule, according to an exit poll released soon after the voting ended.

Lee is projected to secure 51.7% of the vote, according to a joint exit poll on Tuesday, by South Korea's three broadcasters, KBS, MBC, SBS. His main rival, the ruling People Power Party's candidate Kim Moon-soo, is estimated to get 39.3%, the survey of more than 80,000 voters showed.

The exit polls correctly predicted the outcome of 2022 elections when Lee lost by less than 1 percentage point, the smallest margin in South Korea's electoral history. Lee has been consistently leading in most opinion polls in the run-up to the election.