Leftist Lee Jae Myung wins presidential election in South Korea

DPA

Tue, June 3, 2025 at 5:27 PM UTC

1 min read

Lee Jae-myung (C), the presidential candidate of the liberal Democratic Party, waves after casting an early vote at a polling station in Seoul's Seodaemun Ward on May 29, 2025, for the June 3 presidential election. --/YNA/dpa

Left-wing candidate Lee Jae Myung has won the presidential election in South Korea, with conservative rival Kim Moon Soo conceding defeat, Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday.

After counting almost all the votes, the opposition politician is clearly ahead of Kim, Yonhap reported.

According to Yonhap, Lee was initially ahead with 48.4% of the votes, while Kim had received 42.8%. At that point, around 88% of the votes had been counted. The final result is expected in the morning hours. Voter turnout was extremely high at 79.4%.

With Lee, South Koreans have voted for a political change of direction. Lee comes from the left-wing opposition camp and is a rival of the conservative former president Yoon Suk Yeol, who plunged the East Asian country into a crisis lasting for months at the end of 2024.