Overview

• Lee Jae-myung secured 51.7% of the vote to conservative Kim Moon-soo’s 39.3% in the single-round election called after Yoon’s destitution.
• The contest filled the vacancy left by President Yoon Suk Yeol following his aborted attempt to impose martial law in December.
• More than a third of voters cast ballots early, driving participation to 62.1% by mid-day, outpacing the same point in 2022.
• Lee plans to tackle a worsening economic crisis, reverse one of the world’s lowest birth rates and hold those behind the martial law declaration to account.
• Kim Moon-soo’s refusal to apologize for his party’s role in the martial law episode failed to broaden his appeal beyond the conservative base.