Will Lee Jae-myung Win the South Korean Presidency?

Seoul, June 3 (NationPress) The counting of votes has commenced for South Korea's presidential election, officials announced on Tuesday. Exit polls indicate that Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung is favored to secure the presidency, with results likely to be revealed around midnight.

The counting started at approximately 8:35 p.m. (local time) in ballot counting facilities located in North Gyeongsang Province, as reported by the National Election Commission.

Ballot tallying initiated at 254 locations nationwide between 8:30 and 8:40 p.m., according to the commission.

The anticipated winner should emerge around midnight when about 70 to 80 percent of the votes are expected to be counted. The counting process will continue into Wednesday morning, as noted by Yonhap news agency.

Based on four different polls, it is projected that Lee Jae-myung will receive approximately 50 percent of the total vote, leading People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo by a margin of at least 7.5 percentage points.

A poll conducted by JTBC forecasts that Lee will get 50.6 percent of the vote, compared to Kim's 39.4 percent. Another survey by Channel A shows Lee ahead with 51.1 percent versus Kim's 38.9 percent.

The MBN poll estimates that Lee will obtain 49.2 percent of the vote against Kim's 41.7 percent, while a collaborative exit poll from KBS, MBC, and SBS reveals that Lee is leading with 51.7 percent to Kim's 39.3 percent.

Candidate Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party is projected to receive between 7.7 and 8.7 percent according to the various polls mentioned.

The margin of error for the JTBC poll was 0.9 percentage points, while Channel A's was 0.93 percentage points, both at a 95 percent confidence level. The exit poll from KBS-MBC-SBS had a margin of error of 0.8 percentage points at the same confidence level.

As the exit poll results were announced, DP campaign officials and leaders gathered in the National Assembly erupted in applause and cheers.

“I believe the sovereign people have rendered a severe judgment on the insurrection regime,” stated Rep. Park Chan-dae, the leader of the DP election committee, during an interview with KBS.

“These are merely projections, but we will remain vigilant until the election outcome is confirmed and observe the people's judgment and decision.”

Voter turnout for the presidential election in South Korea surpassed 70 percent by 4 p.m.

Of the total 44.39 million eligible voters, approximately 31.73 million, or 71.5 percent, had cast their ballots by that time, according to the National Election Commission (NEC). Voting commenced at 6 a.m. across 14,295 polling stations and concluded at 8 p.m.

The preliminary tally includes votes from early voting, as well as overseas, shipboard, and absentee ballots.

This turnout represents the highest recorded for that time of day in any presidential election.

More than 15.42 million, representing 34.74 percent of registered voters, participated in early voting held on Thursday and Friday.