South Koreans will vote in a snap presidential election today, following months of political turmoil that begun when then-President Yoon Suk Yeol imposed martial law in December.
The election’s major candidates are centre-left Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung and Kim Moon-soo of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party. Lee led the final polls by 49.2% to Kim’s 36.8%, per Yonhap.
“Your vote can change history and protect our democracy,” said Lee at a press conference yesterday. “Voting, the ultimate weapon of those who hold sovereignty, is the most powerful weapon to end insurrection.”
Yoon imposed martial law in December after an investigation was opened into his wife Kim Keon-hee and four allied officials, with the country’s National Assembly overturning the declaration hours later. Yoon was then impeached, with the Constitutional Court unanimously upholding his removal from office in April and a criminal trial on insurrection charges beginning later that month.
A snap election was called after Yoon’s impeachment, as South Korea requires new elections to be held within 60 days of the presidency becoming vacant.
Lee led the Democratic Party from 2022 to 2025, including losing a presidential election to Yoon in 2022, and was a prominent advocate for Yoon’s impeachment. He has campaigned for political reforms such as further checks on presidential power, as well as increasingly business-friendly policies in a bid to court centrists and conservatives.
In May, South Korea’s Supreme Court overturned a ruling that had cleared Lee of violating electoral laws, saying he had publicly made false claims. While a finalised guilty verdict would have barred Lee from contesting the election, the case has been sent back to a lower court with no deadline for a ruling.
Kim most recently served as Minister of Employment and Labour in Yoon’s government, and is a social conservative. He has often criticised Yoon’s impeachment and Yoon has endorsed his candidacy, though Kim has issued a formal apology for the martial law declaration.
His nomination was briefly cancelled by his own People Power Party last month, after Kim suspended his campaign citing a lack of party support. While the party moved to nominate outgoing Prime Minister Han Duck-soo as its candidate, legal threats from Kim later led to a reversal and the reinstatement of his nomination.
Around 65.5% of the country's 44 million eligible voters had cast their ballots as of 2 pm local time, a record for that point in the day. Total turnout was 77% of eligible voters in the prior two presidential elections.
The country’s National Police Agency has stationed 28,550 officers across nearly 14,300 polling centres, according to Yonhap.
Polls will close at 6 pm local time (7 pm AEST), with final results expected the following day.
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