Moon Jae-in declared victory in South Korea’s leadership race, pledging to unify the nation after nine years of conservative rule that culminated in the country’s biggest street protests since the 1980s.
With 40 per cent of ballots counted in Tuesday’s presidential election, Moon received 39.5 per cent of votes, leading conservative Hong Joon-pyo, who had 26.5 per cent. Centrist Ahn Cheol-soo was third with 21.2 per cent. The winner needs a plurality of votes.
“This is really a victory for the people who did their utmost to make a country for justice, unity, principles and common sense,” Moon said in a speech to supporters in Seoul. “I’ll become the president for everyone. A president who serves even those who didn’t support me.”
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 criticised 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.
A total of 77.2 per cent of voters cast their ballots, more than the 75.8 per cent in the 2012 presidential election, which Moon lost to Park, according to the National Election Commission.
Supporters gathered to cheer Moon as he gave his victory speech in Gwanghwamum square in downtown Seoul, where hundreds of thousands of protesters had rallied every Saturday for months to demand Park’s ouster.
An exit poll earlier showed Moon, representing the Democratic Party of Korea, 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.
Ahn, a software tycoon who had been billed as Moon’s main rival, conceded defeat, saying he failed to meet a desire for change among the public. Some opinion polls earlier in the campaign had shown him neck and neck with Moon, only for his support to wane after he failed to impress voters in television debates.
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.
Read more on prospects for chaebol reform after Korea’s election
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.”
The new leader
National Security
Establish the Korea Air and Missile Defence (KAMD) to better detect North Korea’s provocations. He also aims to expand economic and social exchange between the two Koreas.
Economy
Intends to invest in electric and autonomous vehicles, new renewable energy & AI. Aims to reform the chaebols, the family-run conglomerates that dominate the country
Society & Governance
Provide tax relief/incentives to companies hiring women. Pursue a zero-nuclear-power-plants country within 40 years.
Bloomberg