S. Korea votes in tight poll for president

SEOUL－South Koreans voted on Wednesday in a tightly fought presidential election in which the concerns of young people over economic inequality and unemployment were likely to sway the result.

Voter turnout was 77.1 percent, with record early voting but exit polls for the election showed a neck-and-neck race between candidates of the ruling Democratic Party and the main conservative opposition People Power Party.

According to the polls by key broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS, Yoon Suk-yeol of the opposition People Power Party garnered 48.4 percent of support, leading Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party by a narrow margin. Lee gained 47.8 percent, followed by Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party with 2.5 percent, the exit polls showed.

In a separate exit poll, conducted by JTBC, Lee won 48.4 percent of support, beating Yoon's 47.7 percent.

Lee and Yoon, the two main candidates, are vying to succeed incumbent President Moon Jae-in, who is constitutionally barred from seeking reelection.

The pair, both so unpopular that local media have branded it the "election of the unfavorables", had been neck and neck in the polls for months.

The campaign was marked by surprises, scandals and smears, but the policy stakes are high for the populace of 52 million.

The winning candidate must tackle challenges such as the effects of South Korea's worst wave of COVID-19 infections, growing inequality and surging home prices.

In the lead-up to the poll, analysts said the choices of young swing voters would probably prove decisive. This demographic's top concerns are skyrocketing home prices in the capital Seoul, social inequality and stubborn youth unemployment.

"I'm really worried about housing prices in Seoul and I hope the new president will focus on making people's lives easier and better," Park Ki-tae, 38, told Agence France-Presse after casting his ballot.

Both leading candidates have promised to build millions of homes, although the left-leaning Lee relies more on public housing and the conservative Yoon on market-led solutions to the crisis.

"Despite the significance of this year's election, the race has centered too much on negative campaigning," Jang Seung-jin, a professor at Seoul's Kookmin University, told The Associated Press, adding that neither leading candidate laid out a convincing blueprint on how they would lead South Korea.

"Young voters are not loyal to any particular political party and thus can't be defined by liberal-conservative ideology," Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University, told AFP. "Turnouts and choices by those in their 20s will have a significant bearing on the outcome."

Coronavirus pressure

On the eve of the election, South Korea reported a record daily high of 342,446 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight on Tuesday, raising the total number of infections to 5,212,118, the health authorities said on Wednesday.

The daily caseload surpassed 300,000 for the first time in the country, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

The recent resurgence was driven by infections in the Seoul metropolitan area amid the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Voters, wearing masks and using hand sanitizer, lined up to cast their ballots at polling stations.

More than a million people were isolating at home after testing positive, health authorities said. The country amended its electoral laws last month to ensure they would be able to vote.

About 16 million cast ballots during early voting last week.

Officials said vote counting may take longer than usual because of the extended voting time for COVID-19 patients and that the winner may not be clear until early Thursday.

Agencies - Xinhua