Lee Jae-myung has officially won the 21st Presidential Election of South Korea, marking a major shift in power just three years after the country’s last political crisis and calls for accountability over the “martial law scandal.”
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| The 21st South Korea President Lee Jae-Myung |
According to the National Election Commission (NEC), the final vote count concluded at 5:02 AM on June 4, just 8 hours and 22 minutes after ballot counting began. Lee secured 17,287,513 votes, winning 49.42% of the total vote share.
Lee’s closest rival, Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party, received 14,395,639 votes, or 41.15% of the vote.
- Vote difference: 2,891,874 votes
- Vote percentage gap: 8.27 percentage points
This marks a decisive victory for Lee, although he fell slightly short of the absolute majority (50%), missing it by 0.58 percentage points.
- Lee Jun-seok, of the newly formed Reform New Party, came in third with 2,917,523 votes (8.34%).
- Kwon Young-kook, the candidate from the Democratic Labor Party, received 344,150 votes (0.98%).
- Independent candidate Song Jin-ho earned 35,797 votes (0.10%).
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| Vote shares for each presidential candidates |
Although early exit polls by Korea’s major broadcasters predicted a stronger win for Lee, the actual results were slightly lower:
| Candidate | Exit Poll (%) | Final Vote (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Jae-myung | 51.7% | 49.42% |
| Kim Moon-soo | 39.3% | 41.15% |
| Lee Jun-seok | 7.7% | 8.34% |
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| Presidential election vote-share map |
Real-Time Election Highlights
- Ballot counting began at 8:40 PM on election day.
- At 11:15 PM, Lee was projected as the likely winner by major broadcasters.
- By 11:40 PM, his victory was officially confirmed.
- The NEC plans to hold a plenary session at 6:00 AM to formally declare Lee as the President-elect.
This election result marks a significant regime change in South Korea, symbolizing voter response to past controversies and signaling a new political direction. It reflects growing demand for government accountability, transparency, and reform following the backlash from earlier governmental crises.
Learn Korean Through This News
Korean Text:
“제21대 대통령 선거 개표가 4일 오전 5시 2분쯤 이재명 대통령 당선인의 승리로 마무리됐다. 개표를 시작한 지 8시간 22분 만이다.”
Key Vocabulary:
- 제21대 대통령 선거 (je-isib-il-dae dae-tong-ryeong seon-geo) – the 21st presidential election
- 개표 (gae-pyo) – ballot counting, vote tally
- ~쯤 (~jjeum) – around / approximately (used with time or amount)
- 당선인 (dang-seon-in) – president-elect, elected candidate
- 승리 (seung-ri) – victory
- 마무리되다 (ma-mu-ri-dwe-da) – to be completed / wrapped up
- 시작하다 (si-jak-ha-da) – to begin
- ~지 ~만이다 (~ji ~man-i-da) – it has been (amount of time) since ~
Grammar Notes:
- ~쯤 → Indicates approximation (especially for time or numbers): 5시 2분쯤 = around 5:02 a.m.
- ~한 지 ~만이다 → Expresses how much time has passed since an action started: 개표를 시작한 지 8시간 22분 만이다 = It’s been 8 hours and 22 minutes since the vote counting began.
- ~로 마무리되다 → “to be concluded with ~”: 승리로 마무리됐다 = ended in victory
Translation:
“The ballot counting for the 21st presidential election was completed at around 5:02 a.m. on the 4th with the victory of president-elect Lee Jae-myung. It took 8 hours and 22 minutes from the start of the count.”
References: naver news, daum news, yonhap news, kbs news,...