South Korea ruling party candidate concedes in presidential election
The South Korean presidential elections have been concluded with a victory for the conservative Korean party, the People Power Party.
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Lee Jae-Myung, the presidential candidate of South Korea's ruling Democratic Party (Reuters)
South Korea's ruling Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, Lee Jae-Myung, admitted defeat in the presidential election and congratulated his conservative rival, Yoon Suk-Yeol, of the People Power Party.
The concession came after 98% of the votes were counted and showed that the conservative was pulling ahead of his rival.
“This is not your defeat and not the defeat of the Democratic Party. All responsibility lies with me. Congratulations to Candidate Yoon Suk-Yeol," Lee said after his concession.
Voter turnout in South Korea's March 9 presidential election held has been estimated at 77,1%.
Out of nearly 44.2 million eligible voters, more than 34 million have cast their ballots, 16 million of which had already voted in the early voting last Friday and Saturday.
The South Korean president is elected through a one-round ballot by a relative majority of votes.
According to the National Electoral Commission, as of 19:00 GMT, 98% of the votes have been counted, with Yoon Suk-yeol gaining 48.59%, followed by Lee Jae-Myung with 47.79%. The final difference is expected to be less than 1%.
