Korean media outlets declare Lee Jae Myung as the next South Korean President

After just over three hours of vote counting, South Korea’s three major terrestrial broadcasters KBS, MBC, and SBS have simultaneously declared Lee Jae Myung of the Democratic Party as the clear winner of the 21st presidential election held on June 3rd.

At approximately 11:40 PM, about three and a half hours after polls closed, the broadcasters announced Lee’s victory with certainty.

Held amidst unprecedented emergency martial law and the subsequent dismissal of former President Yoon Seok Yeol, this historic early election marks only the second of its kind in South Korea’s history. The public decisively chose a change in government after three years.

According to exit polls released at 8 PM on election day, Lee secured 51.7 percent of the vote, leading his closest rival Kim Moon Soo of the People Power Party by a significant margin of 12.4 percentage points, with Kim receiving 39.3 percent.