(SEOUL) — Liberal Moon Jae-in has declared victory in South Korea's presidential election after his two major rivals conceded defeat Tuesday.

The election sets up the country's first liberal rule in a decade.

It follows months of political turmoil caused by ousted President Park Geun-hye's corruption scandal.

The concessions by conservative Hong Joon-pyo and centrist Ahn Cheol-soo came after exit polls forecast that Moon would win.</s>Supporters of South Korea's presidential candidate Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party hold up his election poster in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, May 9, 2017. Exit polls forecast that liberal candidate Moon will win the election Tuesday to succeed ousted President Park Geun-hye. 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. The sign read "Moon Jae-in".(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)</s>Left-leaning former human rights lawyer Moon Jae-In won South Korea's presidential election by a landslide, an exit poll predicted when voting closed Tuesday.

The election was called to choose a new president after Park Geun-Hye was ousted and indicted for corruption, and took place against a backdrop of high tensions with the nuclear-armed North.

Voters were galvanised by anger over the sprawling bribery and abuse-of-power scandal that brought down Park, which catalysed frustrations over jobs and slowing growth.

They gave Moon, of the Democratic Party, who backs engagement with the North, 41.4 percent support, according to the joint survey by three television stations. Conservative Hong Joon-Pyo -- who dubs Moon a "pro-Pyongyang leftist" was far behind on 23.3 percent, with centrist Ahn Cheol-Soo third on 21.8.

"I feel the people's strong will to change the government... we can make it a reality only when we vote," Moon said after casting his ballot with his wife in western Seoul.

National elections are public holidays in South Korea and a record turnout was expected, with 75.1 percent of voters casting their ballots by 7:00 pm, an hour before the polls closed, just below the final turnout of five years ago.

Kim Sun-Chul, 59, said he voted for Moon because "this country needs to restore democracy which has been so undermined by the Park government".

The campaign focused largely on the economy, with North Korea less prominent, but after a decade of conservative rule a Moon victory could mean a sea change in Seoul's approach towards both Pyongyang and key ally Washington.

The 64-year-old -- accused by his critics of being soft on the North -- has advocated dialogue to ease tensions and to bring it to negotiations. He is seen as favouring more independence in relations with the US, Seoul's security guarantor with 28,500 troops in the country.

Their presence, he told reporters during the campaign, was "important not only to our own security but also to the global strategy of the US".

The North has carried out two nuclear tests and a series of missile launches since the start of last year in its quest to develop a missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the US mainland.

Washington has said military action is an option, sending fears of conflict spiralling.

More recently US President Donald Trump has softened his message, saying he would be "honoured" to meet the North's leader, Kim Jong-Un.

Moon also says he would be willing to visit Pyongyang to meet Kim and advocates resumption of some of the inter-Korean projects shuttered by his predecessors, including the Kaesong joint industrial zone.

In Seoul's prosperous Seocho district, 72-year-old doctor Chung Tae-Wan backed Moon's conservative opponent Hong, telling AFP he did so because "security is the most important thing".

But for many South Korean voters, corruption, slowing growth, unemployment and even air pollution from China top the list of concerns.

South Korea's rapid growth from the 1970s to 1990s pulled a war-ravaged nation out of poverty but slowed as the economy matured, and unemployment among under-30s is now at a record 10 percent.

Frustration over widening inequality in wealth and opportunities fuelled anger over Park's scandal, which exposed the cosy and corrupt ties between regulators and powerful family-oriented conglomerates, known as chaebols, that have endured for decades.

Park is awaiting trial over corruption for offering governmental favours to top businessmen -- including Samsung heir Lee Jae-Yong -- who allegedly bribed her secret confidante, Choi Soon-Sil.

Moon, Ahn and other candidates promised to reform the chaebols, which dominate the economy and have long been criticised for operating with little scrutiny.

Another issue is relations with top trading partner Beijing, which imposed a series of measures seen as economic retaliation over the deployment of a US anti-missile system, THAAD, in the South.

In an election day editorial, the JoongAng daily said South Korea had been left "adrift" by the "acute division and lack of national leadership" stemming from the corruption scandal and Park's impeachment.

The vote, it said, was a "great opportunity to put the troubled nation back on track".</s>After nine years of conservative rule, a progressive will now occupy the Blue House. Moon Jae-in, the Democratic Party candidate, handily won Tuesday’s presidential election in South Korea. His victory will likely result in serious and significant swings in South Korean policy in ways that affect Japan and other nations in the region. There is no time to lose in preparing for those shifts and to build relations with the new government to minimize their impact on Japan.

Moon is a former human rights lawyer and progressive politician who served as chief of staff to the last liberal president, Roh Moo-hyun. He was one of Roh’s closest friends; he was in charge of Roh’s funeral after he committed suicide and helped settle his affairs. That experience no doubt will have an impact on his presidency and his management of Korean affairs.

Moon won a convincing victory in Tuesday’s ballot. He claimed 41 percent of the vote, cleanly besting conservative candidate Hong Joon-pyo with 24 percent of the vote, and the centrist software magnate Ahn Cheol-soo, who claimed 21.4 percent of ballots. With turnout at 77 percent, the highest level in two decades, Moon can claim a genuine mandate.

Moon rides a tide of popular disgust with conservative politics. He was narrowly defeated by Park Geun-hye in the 2012 presidential election, an outcome that deepened the bitter divisions that characterize South Korea’s political world. But Park’s impeachment last year, and its unanimous confirmation by the Constitutional Court in March, created a surge of support for Moon, who has long enjoyed an image as a clean politician. Opinion polls taken just before the election showed that the top concern for the country’s voters was “deep-rooted corruption” and a desire to promote reform; second on that list was economic revival.

If Moon is to succeed in those tasks, he must tackle the chaebol, the huge industrial conglomerates that dominate the South Korean economy and have outsized influence in its politics. The left in South Korea has long sought to reduce their power and size, but have invariably failed. The Park scandal also ensnared some of the country’s largest chaebol and Moon will try to use those entanglements to press long-sought reform.

South Korea’s economic rejuvenation is of importance to Japan, but of more immediate significance, and concern, are potential swings in Seoul’s foreign policy in the wake of Moon’s win. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in commenting that he “looks forward to working with” the new president, said the two countries are “the most important neighbors that share strategic interests.” A good bilateral relationship is essential for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. It is worrisome then that Moon has said that he wants to renegotiate the “comfort women” agreement that Tokyo and Seoul reached in December 2015 and helped the two countries move beyond that contentious issue. To his credit, Moon said earlier this month that he will not use that issue as the “starting point” for relations with Japan, but the temptation to play that card will be strong. Japan should not give South Korea a reasons to do so.

Tensions will also arise from Moon’s desire to reclaim South Korea’s leading role in relations with North Korea. Moon backs the Sunshine Policy of his progressive predecessors, Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, which sought to engage Pyongyang as a way of reducing tensions. That policy put less emphasis on the North’s denuclearization and instead offered significant financial resources to Pyongyang to convince it of Seoul’s good intentions. But the policy was undercut by the North’s cheating on commitments under the 1994 Framework Agreement that capped its nuclear ambitions and reneging on promises made during the six-party talks also involving Japan, the United States, China and Russia.

Pyongyang would have nothing to do with conservative presidents in Seoul who flatly acknowledged — and decried — the North Korean threat, hoping to mobilize the left in South Korea to take up its cause. Moon has said that he favors a “bold blueprint” to deal with North Korea. He would resume economic ties to encourage reform in the North, and would likely push for the reopening of the Kaesong Industrial Complex. In return, he looks ready to accept a freeze on nuclear tests.

The North Korean leadership hopes Moon will break with Tokyo and Washington and join China in pushing for the U.S. and others to engage without preconditions. The prospect of a rupture between the U.S., Japan and South Korea is now real, and nothing would delight North Korea more.

Moon must thread the needle. He wants to lead in relations with Pyongyang, but he needs partners to get the North’s attention. China has connections to Pyongyang and economic influence, but Beijing’s price for help is that Seoul make more distance between itself and the U.S. Yet the U.S. provides the best guarantee of South Korean sovereignty in the face of both Chinese and North Korean threats. Japan has already indicated its readiness to reach out to the new president and help him make the right choice.</s>Early exit polls are projecting Liberal Democratic Party of Korea candidate Moon Jae-in as the winner of the South Korean presidential election.

The post election survey conducted by Korean broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS say Moon won with over 41 percent of the vote. The exit poll is also in line with opinion polls taken before the election that gave Moon a 20 percentage point lead over the field of 13 candidates.

 

 Voter turnout was historically high following a tumultuous political period in which revelations of ex-President Park Geun-hye's alleged a multi-million dollar influence peddling scheme led to weeks of massive public protests that pressured the National Assembly to force her removal from office and call for a new election.

 

 The National Election Commission announced that voter turnout of the 42 million Koreans registered to vote was on track to reach over 80 percent, which would be the highest since President Kim Dae-jung was elected in 1997, with 80.7 percent of eligible voters casting ballots.



 Moon’s closest competitors in the exit polls were conservative Liberty Korea Party candidate Hong Joon-pyo winning 23 percent and centrist People’s Party candidate Ahn Cheol-soo gaining 21 percent.

 

 Official results are expected to be announced early Wednesday morning in Seoul, but the wide margin of Moon’s victory in the exit polls is unlikely to be so far off the official count to change the outcome.

Protest vote

 

 Strong public anger directed at Park over the corruption scandal seemed to energize the liberal base while depressing support for conservative candidates.

 

 Hwang Eui-soon, who attended the past rallies demanding Park’s ouster, said Moon’s support for their cause and calls for anti-corruption reforms influenced him to vote for the Democratic Party candidate.

 

 “I didn't know at that time, but how Mr. Moon played a role as a leader during the protests was very impressive,” said Hwang after voting at the Hongeun-dong polling station in the North of Seoul.

 

 Moon’s victory with just 40 percent of the vote also reflects deep ideological divisions in South Korea. In the South Korean election system the candidate who gains the most votes is declared the winner, even if that total is less than a majority of the electorate.

 

 His Democratic Party holds 119 seats in the 299 member National Assembly. The South Korean parliament usually has 300 members but Ahn Cheol-soo dropped out to run for president and has not yet been replaced. The two main conservative parties hold 126 seats. While Moon does not have a super majority in the legislature, he should be able to implement his polices with support from other liberal leaning parties.

 

 National security

 

 Many of Moon’s supporters said they like his domestic policy agenda to increase government spending for jobs and education. But some are ambivalent about his pro-engagement polices on North Korea that his conservative opponents have labeled as weak on national security.

 

 “[Some people] said [candidate Moon] is pro-North, but I think we don't need to worry about it,” said Kim Eun-hee after she voted for Moon in Seoul.

 

 Despite the impeachment scandal many older voters like Lee Bong-ho still supported the conservative parties due to their strong national security positions that emphasize sanctions, military deterrence and support for the U.S. alliance to restrain the North Korean nuclear threat.

 

 “I've been supporting conservatives, because I consider stability [as a priority]. Looking back at previous administrations, conservatives secured stability,” said Lee.

 

 Sunshine 2.0

 

 Moon advocates a two-track policy on North Korea that promotes dialogue while maintaining pressure and sanctions to encourage change. But many liken his approach to the Sunshine Policy Of Engagement initiated in the early 2000s by late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. That attempt to build inter-Korean trust through assistance and cooperative projects eventually ended in the face of the North’s refusal to suspend its nuclear programs and its continued military provocations.

 

 Moon ran against the conservative Park in 2012 presidential election but narrowly lost in part because she was seen as stronger on national security.

 

 During this presidential campaign Moon criticized the conservative punitive approach toward North Korea for not only failing to stop Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons development, but for also allowing it to accelerate under their watch with increased ballistic missile and nuclear tests.

 

 Moon said on Tuesday that the next South Korean president should take on a more active diplomatic role in working with both the United States and China to bring North Korea to international talks to resolve the nuclear standoff.



 

 The new president will have to deal with erupting diplomatic crises with U.S. President Donald Trump’s $1 billion dollar demand for the THAAD missile defense system being deployed on the Korean Peninsula, and with China’s economic retaliation against South Korea, limiting tourism and imports, for supporting THAAD that Beijing sees as a threatening increase of the U.S. military presence in the region.</s>SEOUL (REUTERS) - South Korea's liberal leader Moon Jae In will take the oath of office as president on Wednesday (May 10), tasked with navigating the country out of rising geopolitical tensions over North Korea's nuclear programme and the risk of a rift with the United States.

Moon, 64, is expected to announce major cabinet and presidential staff appointments as early as Wednesday to swiftly end a power vacuum left by the March ouster of his predecessor, Park Geun Hye, in a corruption scandal. Moon was expected to forgo an elaborate inauguration ceremony.

Official results show Moon winning a decisive victory with the highest turnout in 20 years despite drizzly weather in South Korea. Moon won 41.1 per cent of the votes compared with 24 per cent for conservative candidate Hong Joon Pyo and 21.4 per cent for centrist candidate Ahn Cheol Soo, according to National Election Commission data as of 0906 GMT (5.06pm Singapore time, Tuesday).

As president, Moon must find a way to coax an increasingly belligerent North Korea to dial back on its nuclear and missile threats while defusing a potential trade conflict with the United States. His administration also needs to figure out how to ease tensions with China stemming from the deployment of a US anti-missile defence system in the South Korea to guard against the threat of a North Korean missile strike.

Challenges include mending a deeply divided electorate and a society badly bruised by the corruption scandal.

"I will make a just, united country," Moon told a crowd gathered just before midnight to see the former human rights lawyer who entered politics to lead a party just five years ago. "I will be a president who also serves all the people who did not support me."

Moon faces a divided parliament in which his own Democratic Party lacks a majority. To push through major initiatives, including creating 500,000 jobs annually and reforming the country's powerful family-run conglomerates, he will need to forge partnerships with some of the parties and politicians he fought fiercely on his path to the presidency.

Moon's comfortable margin of victory belies a deep ideological and generational divide in the country of 51 million people.

Data from an exit poll conducted by the country's top three television networks showed that while Moon won the majority of votes cast by those under the age of 50, rival Hong found strong support from those in their 60s and 70s, who tend to be more conservative.

The election has been closely watched by allies and neighbours, with North Korea believed to be gearing up for its sixth nuclear test and vowing to test an intercontinental ballistic missile. Moon is expected to try to engage Pyongyang with dialogue and aid, breaking from his predecessor's hardline policies.

Moon's election could add volatility to relations with Washington, given his questioning of the deployment of the US military's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) anti-missile system, but is not expected to significantly change the alliance, a US official said.

"It remains a concern that the left of center, left-wing party in South Korea is going to do well," the official told Reuters, asking not to be named. "But they are going to have to do some coalition building, so I am not sure he's going be able to have an unadulterated anti-alliance, anti-Thaad stance."

Analysts say Moon will need to act quickly in naming key security and foreign policy aides and ministers in order to ease geopolitical tensions.

Concerning Moon's pledge to turn the presidential Blue House palace into a "rest space for the people" and work in a 19-storey government complex building in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul instead, a spokesman told Yonhap on Wednesday that Moon will work in the Blue House for the time being, and while advisors will discuss logistics no specific timing has been decided.

A Moon spokesman could not be reached to confirm.</s>SEOUL, South Korea — Exit polls in South Korea forecast that liberal candidate Moon Jae-in will win an election Tuesday to succeed ousted President Park Geun-hye.

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.

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.

Such polls are merely a snapshot of the stated intentions of certain voters.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

Park’s trial later this month on bribery, extortion and other corruption charges could send her to jail for life if she is convicted. Dozens of high-profile figures, including Park’s longtime confidante, Choi Soon-sil, and Samsung’s de facto leader, Lee Jae-yong, have been indicted along with Park.

Moon frequently appeared at anti-Park rallies and the corruption scandal boosted his push to re-establish liberal rule. He called for reforms to reduce social inequalities, excessive presidential power and corrupt ties between politicians and business leaders. Many of those legacies dated to the dictatorship of Park’s father, Park Chung-hee, whose 18-year rule was marked by both rapid economic rise and severe civil rights abuse.

As a former pro-democracy student activist, Moon was jailed for months in the 1970s while protesting against the senior Park.

Many analysts say Moon, if elected, likely won’t pursue drastic rapprochement policies because North Korea’s nuclear program has progressed significantly since he was in the Roh government a decade ago.

A big challenge for whoever wins will be U.S. President Donald Trump, who has proven himself unconventional in his approach to North Korea, swinging between intense pressure and threats and offers to talk.

“South Koreans are more concerned that Trump, rather than North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, will make a rash military move, because of his outrageous tweets, threats of force and unpredictability,” Duyeon Kim, a visiting fellow at the Korean Peninsula Future Forum in Seoul, wrote recently in Foreign Affairs magazine.

“It is crucial that Trump and the next South Korean president strike up instant, positive chemistry in their first meeting to help work through any bilateral differences and together deal with the North Korean challenge,” she said.</s>While much of the world has been focused on the elections in France, another hugely consequential political contest just wrapped up 5,500 miles away in South Korea. The election of Moon Jae-in, a left-leaning presidential candidate from the liberal Democratic Party, signals the end of about a decade of conservative rule in South Korea—and it could have major implications for the US relationship with North Korea.

Moon's win comes on the heels of a corruption scandal that led to mass protests and the ouster of former president Park Geun-hye, the daughter of dictator Park Chung-hee. Because of the circumstances surrounding the election, Moon will take power almost immediately without a transition period.

South Korea is a key US ally, but when it comes to relations with the country's northern neighbor, Moon could find himself at odds with President Donald Trump. Whereas Park and her conservative predecessors took a hard-line approach toward the North, Moon believes that policy isn't working—he points to the reality that North Korea has continued to develop nuclear weapons. He's called for engaging in dialogue to build a better relationship with North Korea while continuing to pressure the country through sanctions. While Moon won the election overwhelmingly, many South Koreans aren't convinced about his approach, worrying that North Korea will take advantage of that open dialogue and seek concessions from South Korea while refusing to give up its weapons.

Meanwhile, Trump has called for exerting "maximum pressure" on North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programs—programs that appear to have accelerated in recent months. "There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea. Absolutely," Trump told Reuters in an interview late last month—though the president noted he preferred to use diplomacy to resolve the conflict.

Even so, experts emphasize that South Korea and the United States share the same goal when it comes to North Korea's weapons, and the newly elected president isn't expected dramatically change his country's relationship with the North overnight.

There are other potential areas of conflict between Moon and Trump. For instance, Trump has said he wants to nix a free-trade deal, which is the foundation for the two country's economic ties.

Trump has also argued that South Korea country should pay or a billion-dollar missile defense system the United States recently deployed in South Korea. It's worth noting that defense system is extremely controversial in South Korea, with some concerned it makes the country more of a target. Moon has said his new administration should have the final say over whether the missile defense system, known as THAAD, should be in the country at all.

Asked about Moon's election Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer declined to answer a question about the two leaders' policy differences. "The president looks forward to meeting with him and talking about our shared interests," Spicer said.</s>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.Chaebol ReformMoon 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 electionMoon 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 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“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.”

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.

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</s>Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 9:33 am |

SEOUL (Reuters) - Liberal politician Moon Jae-in won South Korea’s presidential election on Tuesday, exit polls showed, an expected victory that would end nearly a decade of conservative rule and bring a more conciliatory approach toward North Korea.

A decisive win by Moon, with more than 40 percent of votes in a field of 13 candidates, would end months of political turmoil stemming from a parliamentary vote in December to impeach former President Park Geun-hye over an extensive corruption scandal.

The Constitutional Court upheld her impeachment in March, making her the first democratically elected leader to be removed from office and triggering a snap election to choose her successor.

Wearing a dark blue suit and blue tie, Moon was seen shaking hands with supporters and party officials and smiling on his way to a meeting of his Democratic Party after the exit poll results were announced.

“We will need to calmly wait and see, as this was just exit polls,” he told party members. “But if things go on this way and we win, today’s victory is thanks to sheer desperation of the people who wanted a regime change.

“We will accomplish the two tasks given to us, reform and national unity that the people of this country desire.”

Moon, 64, was beating conservative challenger, former prosecutor Hong Joon-pyo, by 41.4 percent to 23.3 percent of the votes, exit polls conducted jointly by three network stations showed.

A Gallup Korea poll last week showed Moon had 38-percent support in a field of 13 candidates.

Moon is expected to be sworn in on Wednesday after the National Election Commission releases the official result. He has said he would skip a lavish inauguration ceremony and start work straight away.

He is likely to quickly name a prime minister, who will need parliamentary approval, and main Cabinet positions, including national security and finance ministers, which do not need parliamentary confirmation.

Moon, who narrowly lost to Park in the last presidential election, in 2012, favors dialogue with North Korea to ease rising tension over its accelerating nuclear and missile program. He also wants to reform powerful family-run conglomerates, such as Samsung and Hyundai, and boost fiscal spending to create jobs.

Moon has criticized the two former conservative governments for failing to stop North Korea’s weapons development. He advocates a two-track policy of dialogue while maintaining pressure and sanctions to encourage change.

Moon faces working with a fractured parliament where his Democratic Party holds 40 percent of the single-chamber, 299-seat assembly, which will likely mean difficulties and deals to pass bills.

“He has to pursue cooperation with other liberal and centrist parties, since the Democratic Party does not have the majority,” said Kim Man-heum, head of the Korea Academy of Politics and Leadership.

“Moon has been criticized for running his own ‘clique,’ so in order to get over that negative image, he’ll seek cooperation to avoid rifts and conflicts,” Kim said.

His victory was bolstered by strong support from younger people, the majority of whom voted for him, 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 Park step down.

The election was closely watched by allies and neighbors at a time of high tension over North Korea’s accelerating development of weapons since it conducted its fourth nuclear test in January last year. It conducted a fifth test in September and is believed ready for another.

Moon said in a 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.
South Koreans vote in a presidential election, with Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea winning the election.