A liberal human rights lawyer born to North Korean refugees has won South Korea' s presidential election with a promise to improve the economy and hold
A liberal human rights lawyer born to North Korean refugees has won South Korea’s presidential election with a promise to improve the economy and hold talks with the nuclear-armed North.
Moon Jae-in, 64, of the Democratic Party, is a former student protester, special forces soldier, and presidential aide. He has promised to add public sector jobs, engage Pyongyang in dialogue, and re-think South Korea’s close relations with the United States.
Moon had a strong lead among a field of 13 candidates, with more than 41 percent of the vote, according to unofficial exit polls conducted by South Korean media.
Both his closest contenders — a far-right conservative and a centrist — have conceded defeat in public speeches.
The official election results are expected early Wednesday morning local time (Tuesday afternoon ET) .
Moon is most closely associated with the left-wing politics of another South Korean president, Roh Moo-hyun, who served from 2003 to 2008 and committed suicide in 2009, amid a family corruption scandal, after leaving office. Moon was Roh’s chief of staff, law partner and best friend, and is expected to revive his so-called Sunshine Policy of dialogue and economic aid to North Korea.
But while North Korea’s burgeoning nuclear program grabs headlines abroad, many South Koreans say the election issues most important to them are domestic: sluggish economic growth, soaring youth unemployment, corruption and air pollution.
