Millions of South Korean voters are casting their ballots on Tuesday for a new president in a snap election following the ouster of former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Yoon, a conservative, faces trial on rebellion charges over his short-lived martial law declaration in December.
Pre-election surveys suggested Lee Jae-myung, Yoon’s liberal archrival, appeared poised to coast to victory due to public frustration over the conservatives in the wake of Yoon’s martial law decree.
The main conservative candidate, Kim Moon Soo, has struggled to win over moderate swing voters, as his People Power Party grapples with internal feuding over how to view Yoon’s actions.
Over the past six months, large crowds of people rallied in the streets to either protest against Yoon or come to his support.
The winner of the election will immediately be sworn in as president on Wednesday for a single, full five-year term without the typical two-month transition period. The new president will face significant challenges, including a slowing economy, U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and North Korea’s nuclear threats.
Voting began at 6 a.m. at more than 14,000 polling stations nationwide. Polls will close at 8 p.m., and observers say a winner could be declared as early as midnight.
As of 2 p.m. local time, more than 13 million people had cast their ballots. Roughly 15 million also voted during last week’s two-day early voting period, meaning voter turnout stood at 65.5%. South Korea has 44.4 million eligible voters.
On Tuesday, Lee, whose Democratic Party led the legislative effort to oust Yoon, urged voters to ‘deliver a stern and resolute judgement’ against the conservatives over Yoon’s martial law declaration.
In one of his final campaign speeches on Monday, Lee argued that a victory by Kim would represent ‘the return of the rebellion forces, the destruction of democracy and the deprival of people’s human rights.’ He also vowed to revitalize the economy, reduce inequality and ease national divisions.
Kim, a former labor minister under Yoon, warned that a win by Lee would allow him to hold excessive power, launch political retaliation against opponents and legislate laws to protect him from various legal troubles, as his party already has control of parliament.
Lee ‘is now trying to seize all power in South Korea and establish a Hitler-like dictatorship,’ Kim said at a rally in the southeastern city of Busan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.