Liberal Moon Jae-in set to win S. Korea presidency: Exit poll (Second Lead)

Seoul May 9 (IANS) An exit poll of voters indicated a clear win for Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic Party in South Korea s presidential election on Tuesday.

Moon was estimated to have garnered 41.4 per cent of all votes according to the exit poll conducted by three major local broadcasters -- MBC KBS and SBS Yonhap news agency reported.

I felt the people s earnest desire for government change to create a country worthy of calling a country said Moon a former human rights lawyer and chief of staff to late President Roh Moo-hyun before casting his ballot at a polling station in northwestern Seoul together with his wife.

I plead with you to join forces to build a country worthy of being called a country by participating in the vote until the end he added.

The frontrunner was followed by Hong Joon-pyo of the conservative Liberty Korea Party with 23.3 per cent.

The outcome of the exit poll was announced as the one-day voting came to end at 8 p.m.

Moon s victory has been widely anticipated as the rare presidential by-election caused by the March 10 ouster of former conservative President Park Geun-hye.

The former conservative President was removed from office by a Constitutional Court that upheld the parliamentary impeachment of her over a series of corruption allegations that have also led to her arrest and indictment.

Ahn Cheol-soo of the centre-left People s Party was expected to finish third with the exit poll showing him winning 21.8 per cent of all votes cast in the election.

Yoo Seong-min of the splinter conservative Bareun Party came in a distant fourth with 7.1 per cent followed by Sim Sang-jeung of the progressive Justice Party with 5.9 per cent.

Unlike the previous elections the President-elect will be sworn in immediately after the National Electoral Commission (NEC) makes an official statement of the election result at a meeting scheduled for Wednesday morning media reports said.

--IANS
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