South Korea's President-elect Lee Jae-myung waves as he leaves to meet his supporters. [Source: Reuters]

South Korea’s liberal party candidate Lee Jae-myung led with more than 85% of the votes counted in Tuesday’s snap presidential election, six months to the day after he evaded military cordons to vote against a shock martial law decree.

His conservative rival, Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party, conceded the race and congratulated Lee.

Lee’s victory stands to usher in a political sea change in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, after the backlash against the martial law brought down Yoon Suk Yeol, the conservative outsider who narrowly beat Lee in the 2022 election.

Nearly 80% of South Korea’s 44.39 million eligible voters cast their ballots, the highest turnout for a presidential election in the country since 1997, with Lee terming the polls “judgment day” against Yoon’s martial law and the PPP’s failure to distance itself from that decision.

Preliminary vote tallies and exit polls by the country’s major broadcasters had Lee defeating Kim by comfortable margins.

A joint exit poll by broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS, which has in previous elections mostly been in line with the final results, put Lee on 51.7% and Kim on 39.3%.

A separate survey by broadcaster JTBC put Lee on 50.6% and Kim on 39.4%. Channel A also predicted a Lee win by similar margins. Reuters has not independently confirmed the results of the surveys.

The decree and the six months of ensuing turmoil, which saw three different acting presidents and multiple criminal insurrection trials for Yoon and several top officials, marked a stunning political self-destruction for the former leader and effectively handed the presidency to his main rival.

Yoon was impeached by the Lee-led parliament, then removed from office by the Constitutional Court in April, less than three years into his five-year term, triggering the snap election that now stands to remake the country’s political leadership and foreign policies of a key U.S. ally.

Lee has accused the PPP of having condoned the martial law attempt by not fighting harder to thwart it and even trying to save Yoon’s presidency.

Kim was Yoon’s labour minister when the former president declared martial law on December 3.

In a brief speech to those supporters, Lee said he would fulfil the duties of the office if he wins as expected.

He also vowed to bring unity to the country, revive the economy, and seek peace with nuclear-armed North Korea.

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