South Korea elects Conservative leader Yoon Suk-yeol as President

Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative former top prosecutor, has been elected South Korea’s new president, defeating his chief liberal rival in one of the country’s most  closely fought elections. With more than 98 percent of the ballots counted, Yoon had 48.6 percent of the votes against his rival Lee Jae-myung’s 47.8 percent. In his victory speech at the party office, Yoon, said, he will respect their constitution and Parliament and work together with the opposition party to serve the people properly. Yoon will take office in May and serve a single five-year term as leader of the world’s 10th largest economy. Yoon said he would put top priority on “national unity,” adding all people should be treated equally regardless of their regional, political and socioeconomic differences.Yoon has pledged to stamp out graft, foster justice and create a more level economic playing field, while seeking a "reset" with China and a tougher stance towards reclusive North Korea, which has launched a record number of missile tests in recent months.
Earlier, Lee, a former governor of Gyeonggi province, conceded his defeat during a news conference at his party headquarters. The election boiled down to a two-way showdown between Yoon from the opposition People Power Party and Lee from the governing Democratic Party. The election comes as South Korea has been grappling with an omicron-driven COVID-19 surge.   The election boiled down to a two-way showdown between Yoon from the opposition People Power Party and Lee from the governing Democratic Party. They spent months slamming, mocking and demonising each other in one of the most bitter political campaigns in recent memory, aggravating the country’s already severe domestic divisions.