This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/moon-jae-in-south-korea-presidential-election-result-exit-polls-latest-landslide-north-korea-a7725936.html

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Moon Jae-in wins South Korea presidential election by landslide, exit polls suggest Moon Jae-in on course for landslide victory in South Korea presidential election
(about 7 hours later)
Exit polls in South Korea forecast that liberal candidate Moon Jae-in will win an election Tuesday to succeed ousted President Park Geun-hye.  Liberal politician Moon Jae-in decisively won South Korea's presidential election on Tuesday, television networks declared, an expected victory ending nearly a decade of conservative rule and bringing a more conciliatory approach toward North Korea.
Official results weren't expected for hours, but the exit poll of about 89,000 voters at 330 polling stations, jointly commissioned by three major television stations and released just after polls closed, showed Moon receiving 41.4 percent of the vote.  Mr Moon's victory will end months of political turmoil that led to parliament's impeachment of conservative former President Park Geun-hye over an extensive corruption scandal, which a court upheld in March. Ms Park became the first democratically elected leader in South Korea to be removed from office, triggering a snap election to choose her successor.
His two main rivals, conservative Hong Joon-pyo and centrist Ahn Cheol-soo, were expected to garner 23.3 percent and 21.8 percent, respectively, according to the exit poll, which had a margin of error of 0.8 percentage points.  Climbing a temporary stage set up in the main square in downtown Seoul, a beaming Mr Moon surrounded by his Democratic Party leaders, vowed to usher in a new era for a country badly bruised by the scandal in a midnight victory speech.
Such polls are merely a snapshot of the stated intentions of certain voters.  "I will make a just, united country," he told a crowd gathered to see the former human rights lawyer who entered politics just five years ago. "I will be a president who also serves all the people who did not support me."
The final opinion surveys released last week showed Moon, the Democratic Party candidate, had about a 20 percentage point lead over his two main challengers.  With 80 per cent of the votes counted at 5pm GMT, Mr Moon was ahead with 40 per cent, according to the National Election Commission. A conservative challenger, former prosecutor Hong Joon-pyo, was next with 25.5 per cent followed by centrist candidate Ahn Cheol-soo with 21.4 per cent.
A win by Moon would end a decade of conservative rule in South Korea and could result in sharp departures from recent policy toward nuclear-armed North Korea.  A plurality of votes is enough for victory.
Moon has called for engagement with North Korea, saying that the hard-line approach favored by conservative governments did nothing to prevent the North from expanding its nuclear bomb and missile programs and only reduced South Korea's voice in international efforts to deal with its rival.  The results were in line with an exit poll by South Korea's three biggest broadcasters, which showed Mr Moon, 64, capturing 41.4 per cent of the votes in a field of 13 candidates.
The winning candidate will be officially sworn in as South Korea's new president after the election commission finishes the vote count and declares the winner Wednesday morning. This forgoes the usual two-month transition because Tuesday's vote was a by-election to choose a successor to Park, whose term was to end in February 2018. "If exit polls are true, I will accept the results and just be satisfied with the fact that the Liberty Korea Party will be restored,” a downcast Mr Hong told members of his conservative party.
Following months of protests by millions and impeachment by lawmakers, Park was removed from office and arrested in March over corruption allegations. The new South Korean president will still serve out a full, single five-year term.  Mr Ahn said he would "humbly accept" the result.
"I gave all my body and soul (to the election) to the very end," Moon, 64, told reporters Tuesday after casting his ballot in Seoul.  Voter turnout was 77.2 per cent, the highest in 20 years, but short of the expected 80 per cent mark, as voters headed to the polls in drizzly weather.
Moon was chief of staff for the last liberal president, the late Roh Moo-hyun, who sought closer ties with North Korea by setting up large-scale aid shipments to the North and by working on now-stalled joint economic projects.  Mr Moon is expected to be sworn in for a five-year term later on Wednesday. He has said he would skip a lavish inauguration ceremony and start work straight away.
Hong, an outspoken former provincial governor who pitched himself as a "strongman," described the election as a war between ideologies and questioned Moon's patriotism.  He is likely to quickly name a prime minister, who will need parliamentary approval. The main cabinet posts, including national security and finance ministers, do not need parliamentary confirmation.
After voting, Hong said the election was a "war of regime choices between people, whether they decide to accept a North Korea-sympathizing leftist government or a government that can protect the liberty of the Republic of Korea," South Korea's formal name.  Mr Moon, who narrowly lost to Ms Park in the last presidential election in 2012, favours dialogue with North Korea to ease tension over its accelerating nuclear and missile programme. He also wants to reform powerful family-run conglomerates, such as Samsung and Hyundai, and boost fiscal spending to create jobs.
AP Mr Moon has criticised the two previous conservative governments for failing to stop North Korea's weapons development. He advocates a two-track policy of seeking dialogue with the North while maintaining pressure and sanctions to encourage change.
His Democratic Party holds 40 per cent of the single-chamber, 299-seat assembly, which will means he will have to build coalitions to pass legislation.
His victory was bolstered by strong support from younger people, according to the exit polls. Many of his supporters participated in big, peaceful weekend rallies over the last few months of 2016 and early this year, demanding Ms Park step down.
Only 22-25 per cent of people in their 60s and 70s voted for Mr Moon, exit polls showed, underscoring a long-standing generation gap. Many older people are wary of Mr Moon's less confrontational stance on North Korea.
The election is being closely watched abroad at a time of high tension with North Korea, which is believed to be preparing for a sixth nuclear test and has vowed to test an intercontinental missile.
Mr Moon, whose campaign promises include a "National Interest First" policy, has struck a chord with people who want the country to stand up to powerful allies and neighbours.
He wrote in a book published in January South Korea should learn to say "no to America".
Mr Moon said in a YouTube live stream on Tuesday that South Korea should take on a more active diplomatic role to curb North Korea's nuclear threat and not watch idly as the United States and China talk to each other.
Mr Moon was a close friend and confidant of late president Roh Moo-hyun, who served from 2003 to 2008 and advocated a "Sunshine Policy" of engaging North Korea through aid and exchanges.
Mr Moon believes better inter-Korean relations is the best way to provide security. But Washington is worried his moderate stance could undercut efforts to increase pressure and sanctions, senior South Korean officials said.
"Things are not right to resume the so-called Sunshine Policy, as the U.S. and China turned more hostile towards North Korea," said Koh Yu-hwan, Dongguk University professor of North Korean studies, who is serving as a foreign policy adviser to Mr Moon.
"Still, Moon is expected to engage in discussions, which could improve North-South relations."
Mr Moon's election could also complicate the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, which the former government in Seoul and the US military agreed to last year.
Mr Moon has said the decision was made too quickly and the next administration should have the final say on whether to deploy the system.