Seoul: Moon Jae-in is poised to take power in South Korea, with rival parties conceding the election after an exit poll signalled that voters resoundingly backed him to end nine years of conservative rule after the country’s biggest street protests since the 1980s.
South Korean centrist and conservative have conceded the presidential election, paving way to victory for liberal Moon Jae-in, the AP has reported.
Moon, 64, led conservative Hong Joon-pyo by 41.4% to 23.3% in Tuesday’s presidential election, according to the exit poll conducted by South Korea’s three biggest broadcasters. Centrist Ahn Cheol-soo was third with 21.8%.
Speaking after the poll was released, Moon said it showed he won by a “landslide.” Officials have begun counting votes, with a winner expected in the early-morning hours.
“I ask you all to be with me until we accomplish the two tasks we have—reform and unity,” Moon told supporters. “People eagerly wanted a transfer of power.”
The left-leaning Moon has long led opinion surveys in an election triggered by the ouster in March of former President Park Geun-hye, who is now in jail while on trial for corruption charges. He has pledged a softer touch with North Korea and tougher action against family-run conglomerates that dominate Asia’s fourth-biggest economy.
Moon’s stance on North Korea could put him at odds with US President Donald Trump, who has stressed that he could take military action to halt the isolated nation’s nuclear ambitions. The son of North Korean refugees, Moon criticized the early installation of a US missile shield on South Korean soil and has said he’d meet with Kim Jong Un under the right circumstances.
At home, Moon faces the task of healing a nation which is still reeling from the graft probe that culminated in Park’s arrest in March after months of street protests. He has pledged to add fiscal stimulus to create jobs for disaffected youth and bolster an economy forecast to expand this year at the slowest pace since 2012.
Seeking unity
A total of 77.2% of voters cast their ballots, more than the 75.8% in the 2012 presidential election, which Moon lost to Park, according to the National Election Commission.
Supporters cheered Moon and waved the national flag as he arrived at the National Assembly to join his party members on Tuesday night. Moon raised his arms in front of rows of campaign officials chanting “President Moon Jae-in.”
Moon, representing the Democratic Party of Korea, was winning in all regions except two south-eastern provinces and one city nestled between them that are traditional bedrocks for conservatives, according to the exit poll. He attracted the most support from voters in their 20s to 50s, while people in their 60s and older tended to vote for Hong, whose Liberty Korea Party is an offshoot of Park’s, the poll showed.
Hong said he is satisfied with his efforts to rebuild the party if the exit poll reflects actual results.
Chaebol reform
Assuming the vote count confirms his victory, Moon will begin his single five-year term immediately without the normal transition period because of Park’s impeachment. Park is facing trial over allegations she received bribes from top business leaders including Samsung Group heir apparent Jay Y. Lee. Both deny any wrongdoing.
Voter disillusionment over the Park scandal has prompted lawmakers to consider a constitutional change to reduce the powers of the president. While Moon’s party currently has the most representatives in the 299-member national assembly, parliamentary rules may make it hard to pass tough reform measures.
Moon has vowed to reduce the political influence of conglomerates known as chaebol in the wake of the turmoil. Optimism that corporate governance will improve under a new administration has helped to send the benchmark Kospi index of shares to a record high, and those gains are likely to be sustained, according to Nomura Holdings Inc. analysts.
“We think that he will definitely improve corporate governance,” Young Sun Kwon, a senior economist at Nomura in Hong Kong, told Bloomberg Television on Monday. That would be positive for the stock rally, along with Moon’s “expansionary” fiscal policy and diplomatic approach to North Korea, Kwon said.
Moon is expected to boost government spending to increase domestic demand that’s been hampered by growing youth unemployment and household debt. An extra budget may total about 10 trillion won ($8.8 billion), Kim Sang-jo, a Hansung University professor who counsels Moon on economic policy, said in an interview last month.
Choi Min-ho, 30, said he voted for Moon in the hope that he stamps out corruption in politics.
“There haven’t been enough policies for ordinary people like us,” said Choi, who is looking for a job while working at his father’s store. “I would like our next president to create a cleaner political environment.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Kanga Kong in Seoul at kkong50@bloomberg.net, Sam Kim in Seoul at skim609@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Ten Kate at dtenkate@bloomberg.net, Russell Ward
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