SEOUL, June 3 (UPI) -- South Koreans headed to the polls in record numbers on Tuesday to vote for a new president exactly six months after a botched martial law decree by impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol unleashed political turmoil and deepened divisions in the country.
As of 6:00 p.m., some 33.8 million voters had cast a ballot, reaching a record-breaking 76.1% of South Korea's 44.4 million eligible voters, according to the National Election Commission. The figure was the highest during the same period since South Korea began holding direct elections in 1987.
Interest in the race has remained sky-high since a snap election was called after Yoon's removal from office in April. Most polls have shown liberal Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung holding a commanding lead over the conservative People Power Party's Kim Moon-soo, with a Gallup Korea survey last week giving Lee an edge of 49% to 35%.
Polls close at 8 p.m. and a winner is expected to be announced around midnight, although the vote counting is expected to continue until early Wednesday morning, the NEC said. The winner's inauguration will be held within hours, without the typical two-month transition period due to Yoon's removal.
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The new president will face a host of challenges, including an economic downturn and tariff negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump, who last week announced plans to double tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50%. The presidential vacuum has made it difficult for South Korea, an export-driven country, to craft a trade package ahead of the July deadline for Trump's 90-day pause on so-called "reciprocal" tariffs.
Geopolitical concerns, including an increasingly dangerous North Korea, and a looming demographic crisis caused by the world's lowest birth rate are also on voters' minds this election season.
For many, however, the top issue was safeguarding South Korean democracy in the wake of Yoon's shocking Dec. 3 martial law attempt, which was overturned within hours by Democratic Party lawmakers including Lee Jae-myung.
"Yoon Suk Yeol tried to destroy the democratic system in Korea," Lee Kyung-jae, 61, said after voting in the Sadang district of Seoul. "I was angry about that, so I selected Lee Jae-myung."
Lee said he was a student activist during the 1980s democracy movement against the military dictatorship of President Chun Doo-hwan and called Yoon's martial law attempt a shocking flashback to that time.
"We thought our democratic system was secure," Lee said. "Most Koreans were so angry that Yoon tried to destroy it."
During his final campaign rally on Monday night, Lee said the election was a chance to "shake off the dark night of insurrection and welcome a new morning of hope."
Sean King, senior vice president and East Asia expert at New York-based consulting firm Park Strategies, told UPI that "general public disgust" at Yoon's botched marital law attempt made the race "clearly Lee Jae-myung's to lose."
On the foreign policy front, King said that Lee would likely take a less hawkish stance toward North Korea than Yoon, which may align with a potential nuclear summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
A Lee win "suits Donald Trump just fine, as Lee Jae-myung is sure to look favorably on Trump's desired reengagement of North Korea's Kim Jong Un," King said.
Other voters on Tuesday ranked defense and security issues as top concerns.
"I am concerned about the future of this Peninsula," Eric Park, 26, said outside of a polling station. He did not want to reveal who he voted for, but said he was looking for a conservative position on national defense and a strong military alliance with the United States.
"I want to see a stronger position," Park said, citing China and North Korea as looming threats. "I just think that's the only option to save the country and future generations."
Kim Moon-soo has vowed to be a "security president who eliminates the fear of North Korea's nuclear weapons," and has signaled a hard-line stance similar to the approach taken by Yoon Suk Yeol.
He has called for strengthening extended deterrence capabilities under the U.S.-South Korea military alliance, including the potential of redeploying U.S. tactical nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula.
While the race is a two-way contest, Lee Jun-seok of the minor conservative Reform Party generally received around 10% support in polls leading up to the election. Lee, 40, has found support among younger men in their 20s and 30s, while courting controversy with remarks widely considered to be misogynistic.
Choi In-woo, a 23-year-old business student, said he voted for Lee because he felt the other candidates were not engaged with issues facing younger voters, such as the need for pension reform in a rapidly aging society.
"[Lee Jae-myung and Kim Moon-soo] are not thinking of how to make further developments of the economy," he said. "They just want to keep arguing about the past."
Both Lee and Kim made economic growth their top campaign promise, with a focus on heavy government investment in the artificial intelligence industry. The two candidates have also agreed on the need for constitutional reform, with both proposing a transition to a two-term, four-year presidency to replace the current single, five-year term.
