Liberal Moon Jae-in set be S. Korean President: Exit poll

Seoul, May 9 (IANS) Moon Jae-in was on course Tuesday to win the South Korean presidential election, according to an exit poll conducted by the country's three major broadcasters.

The Liberal Democratic Party's Moon was estimated to have garnered 41.4 per cent of all votes, according to the exit poll conducted by -- MBC, KBS and SBS, Yonhap news agency reported.

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. (local time).

Apparently seeing no possibility of the actual outcome of the vote being any different from the exit poll, Moon said his election, if confirmed, would mark the people's and the party's victory.

"It will mark the victory of the people's desperate wish for a government change. We did our utmost to help realize this aspiration of the people, and I believe that was the driving force that enabled our victory today," Moon told his supporters at the party's Seoul headquarters.

Hong hinted at his acceptance of defeat, suggesting that his winning more than 20 percent of all votes in the election would mark success in its own way.

"If the outcome of the exit poll is true, I will be happy to have rebuilt the party that had collapsed," he said.

If Moon's win is confirmed, he is expected to overhaul Seoul's policy on North Korea, looking to open talks with Pyongyang and challenge the deployment of a controversial US missile defence system.

Such a position stands in stark contrast to the hardline conservative policy of ousted President Park Geun-hye.

The former conservative President was removed from office on March 10 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.

Because the latest presidential election was aimed at filling the country's now vacant top executive office, the successful candidate's single five-year term will begin immediately after confirmation of the election result by the National Election Commission.

The NEC earlier said counting all the votes may take up to 10 hours, but that the winner could emerge as early as around midnight.

The election watchdog said 77.2 per cent of all eligible voters cast their ballots in Tuesday's election. It marked the highest voter turnout in a presidential election over the past two decades.