Exit poll shows liberal candidate Lee forecast to win South Korean election
The poll comes two months after his rival and then-conservative president Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office over his short-lived imposition of martial law.
The exit poll by South Korea's three major TV stations – KBS, MBC and SBS – showed Mr Lee projected to obtain 51.7% of the total votes cast, beating conservative candidate Kim Moon Soo on 39.3%.
Pre-election surveys also suggested Mr Lee appeared headed for an easy win, riding on deep public frustration over the conservatives in the wake of Mr Yoon's martial law debacle.
Mr Kim has struggled to win over moderate, swing voters as his People Power Party remains in a quagmire of internal feuding over how to view Mr Yoon's actions.
The election serves as another defining moment in the country's resilient democracy, but observers worry a domestic divide worsened after Mr Yoon's martial law stunt is far from over and could pose a big political burden on the new president.
The past six months saw large crowds of people rallying in the streets to either denounce or support Mr Yoon, while a leadership vacuum caused by Mr Yoon's impeachment and ensuing formal dismissal rattled the country's high-level diplomatic activities and financial markets.
The winning candidate will immediately be sworn in as president on Wednesday for a single, full term of five years without the typical two-month transition period.
The new president will face major challenges including a slowing economy, US president Donald Trump's America-first policies and North Korea's evolving nuclear threats.
Voting began at 6am local time at 14,295 polling stations nationwide, with polls closing at 8pm. Observers say the winner could be announced as early as midnight.
More than 19 million people had cast their ballots, according to the National Election Commission's tally as of 8.20pm. Combined with the 15 million who voted during last week's two-day early voting period, voter turnout stood at 78.4%. South Korea has 44.4 million eligible voters.
In a Facebook posting on Tuesday, Mr Lee, whose Democratic Party led the legislative effort to oust Mr Yoon, called for voters to 'deliver a stern and resolute judgment' against the conservatives over martial law.
In one of his final campaign speeches on Monday, Mr Lee argued that a win by Mr Kim would mean the 'the return of the rebellion forces, the destruction of democracy and the deprival of people's human rights'.
He also promised to revitalise the economy, reduce inequality and ease national divisions.
Mr Kim, a former labour minister under Mr Yoon, warned that a Lee win would allow him to wield excessive power, launch political retaliation against opponents and legislate laws to protect him from various legal troubles, as his party already controls parliament.
Mr Lee 'is now trying to seize all power in South Korea and establish a Hitler-like dictatorship,' Mr Kim told a rally in the south-eastern city of Busan.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
34 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Trump is strongarming companies elsewhere into cutting DEI. Those that cave in now will regret it later
Organising a women's networking event in the US has become an act of defiance. Companies with equality-driven agendas risk losing government contracts. Some are receiving McCarthy-like letters asking them to confirm that they have no diversity policies. Activities designed to support women, including healthcare research, are being threatened, and companies are backtracking on former commitments. Women's networking events, the gathering of diversity data and targeted training are being questioned. And some companies are requesting that charities focused on women and girls consider changes to their programmes in order to navigate the current climate. The one I founded, Inspiring Girls, has already been asked to 'include men as role models'. This anti-diversity wave isn't just a social backlash to the many excesses of wokeness – it is politically orchestrated and driven. It crystallised in 2021, when the senator Josh Hawley devoted his entire keynote speech at the second National Conservatism Conference to 'reclaiming masculinity', calling for boys (not girls) to be taught competitiveness, strength, honesty and courage – as if those were only male values. Since then, the movement has reached the highest offices of power: the White House is its headquarters and its commander-in-chief is Trump's deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, who promised last year to tackle 'anti-white racism' if Trump won a second term. The anti-diversity brigade has no shortage of money or allies: several 'tech bros' (whether out of conviction or FOMO) have joined in – as have tech venture capitalists and other Maga financiers. These are men who operate in fields dominated almost exclusively by other men and who wield enormous wealth and influence, yet they often cast themselves as victims. They hide their anti-diversity stance under the disguise of meritocracy. On the progressive side, there is a movement claiming that it is actually boys – particularly white working-class ones – rather than girls who are 'in crisis'. It is led by the American Institute for Boys and Men, which last week received a $20m grant from Melinda French Gates. They argue that boys lag behind girls in education and employment. It is true, of course, that many of the manufacturing jobs that many young men used to rely on are vanishing due to automation and tech (ironically, for the benefit of mostly male tech moguls). Unfortunately, however, this well-meaning movement is fuelling the anti-diversity brigade's narrative – because they can now claim that even progressives admit it is white men who are suffering. The Trump administration has not yet imposed specific obligations on businesses to withdraw diversity programmes beyond companies who have contracts with the government – including, now, some companies across the EU, but many are taking spontaneous actions. Some companies are doing so because their diversity policies were just for show, while others are simply acting out of fear. The trend is clear: many are eliminating references to diversity and equality from their websites and in their reporting; others are reneging from aspirational targets, stopping data-gathering on recruitment and promotions, and dismantling training programmes. Some of the companies that are backtracking have headquarters in the UK or Europe. And many of the US tech companies and funds that are leading the diversity backlash have subsidiaries and offices on this side of the Atlantic. Their actions are in straightforward conflict with the letter and the spirit of British and EU legislation on equality, such as EU corporate sustainability reporting rules or equal opportunities and equal pay directives. And yet the equality ministries in the British and other European governments – and in the European Commission – have remained largely silent. Most equality ministries and agencies are led by herbivorous politicians and officials who favour performative programmes over meaningful action. Confronting Trump is far too scary for them, which is why they have not set the limits of what companies can and cannot do, whether specifically or in general guidelines. Over time, it is possible the anti-diversity movement will yield some positives, as it could drive companies who continue to believe in diversity towards more meaningful, effective and data-based policies. Besides, in a litigation-led country such as the US, it is only a matter of time before the courts impose some limits on government-led anti-diversity intimidation. When they do, the backlash against companies that have acted spinelessly will have its own consequences. But the UK and the rest of Europe cannot be passive spectators waiting for the pendulum to swing again. Our equality authorities should counteract Trump's raid on diversity by providing clear official guidance to companies on what they can and cannot do – it is their legal and moral duty to do so. America First should not mean America Everywhere when it comes to the fundamental principles of diversity, equality and inclusion. Miriam González Durántez is an international trade lawyer and the founder and chair of Inspiring Girls
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Musk's stern warning as he challenges Trump's spending bill
By He spent much of Wednesday fine tuning his attacks against what he called an 'insane' spending package that Trump is pushing GOP leadership to have on his desk by the fourth of July. Musk wrote on X: 'Call your Senator, call your Congressman, bankrupting America is NOT ok!' He bulleted his message by demanding: 'KILL the BILL.' The Tesla CEO also reiterated his attack line that the bill was forcing Americans into 'Debt Slavery' in a quote tweet of fellow anti-bill Republican Rand Paul. 'This spending bill contains the largest increase in the debt ceiling in US history! It is the Debt Slavery Bill.' Notably, earlier Wednesday, Trump admitted he agreed with longtime liberal rival 'Pocahontas' Elizabeth Warren in saying that the debt ceiling should be scrapped. Undeterred, Musk also posted an image visualizing the increase in the national debt since 1900 and said: 'Flatten the curve.' He proposed that the Congressional GOP leaders - who have stood behind the bill despite a MAGA 'civil war' taking place over it - draft 'a new spending bill... that doesn't massively grow the deficit and increase the debt ceiling by 5 TRILLION DOLLARS.' Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed the House last month but is now held up in the Senate where some Republicans agree with Musk's outrage. The SpaceX boss began criticizing Trump's bill earlier this month, then really began tearing into his former best friend with a series of posts on X Tuesday and Wednesday. Musk is highly influential in MAGA world because of his billions and his control over one of the most popular social media platforms in the U.S. With 220 million followers on X, and control over the algorithm, Musk could attempt to turn the tide against Trump. Musk has slammed pro-MAGA lawmakers in Congress who voted for the bill. 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore,' he wrote on X on Tuesday. 'This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.' The MAGA civil war intensified when Trump loyalist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) sided with Musk. Musk said enough was enough in another Tuesday post where he claimed: 'Mammoth spending bills are bankrupting America!' Around 2am on Wednesday morning, Musk continued his tirade on his social media platform. He also reposted a series of tweets where Musk aligned himself with Republican Sen. Ran Paul of Kentucky, who has been vocal about his opposition to the Big Beautiful Bill. 'I've been pretty consistent in my time in the Senate: I oppose deficit spending—no matter which party is in charge. If we don't get serious about reigning in the debt, the next generation will pay the price,' Paul wrote in an X post that Musk reposted to his page. 'Fiscal responsibility isn't a campaign slogan,' Paul continued. 'It's a duty which I take very seriously.' Greene is a longtime ally of Trump in the House – but she said Tuesday she voted to pass the bill without reading a section that would have reversed that decision. 'Full transparency, I did not know about this section... that strips states of the right to make laws or regulate AI for 10 years,' she admitted. 'I am adamantly OPPOSED to this and it is a violation of state rights and I would have voted NO if I had known this was in there.' She promised she would change her vote if the bill retained that section when it returned to the House of Representatives for reconciliation following any changed made by the Senate. Experts predict the bill's passage would be dire for the U.S. economy and claim the interest on America's debt alone would be crippling. 'Interest payments already consume 25% of all government revenue,' Musk wrote on X around 2:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday. The Tesla and SpaceX boss continued: If the massive deficit spending continues, there will only be money for interest payments and nothing else! No social security, no medical, no defense … nothing.' It became clear that the bromance between Musk and Trump was over earlier this year as reports emerged regarding clashes the billionaire had with hose in the president's inner circle . Additionally, last month Musk left his role with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), laying the ground work for him to break with Trump after his job within government was done.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
The Trump foe behind Amazon's Biblical epic
Leonard Leo won his decades-long crusade to reshape the US legal system when he helped Donald Trump appoint three conservative Supreme Court justices, securing a Right-leaning supermajority in the nation's highest court. While he has since fallen out of favour with the president who last week branded him a 'sleazebag', the Federalist Society leader has quietly been fighting another battle: giving pop culture a Godly makeover. 'I just said to myself well if this can work for law, why can't it work for lots of other areas of American culture and American life where things are really messed up right now,' Mr Leo said in a promotional video for Teneo, a conservative networking hub he helped fund. He went on: 'Entertainment that's really corrupting our youth – why can't we build talent pipelines and networks that can positively affect those areas as well?' So far, the Christian power player's campaign to litter the streaming charts with conservative programming is another success story. Mr Leo, 59, secretly helped bankroll the studio behind House of David, a biblical retelling of David and Goliath, according to the Wall Street Journal. Like the story of its protagonist, it defied the odds by leaping to the coveted number one spot on Amazon Prime. It has already been commissioned for a second season. Mr Leo, who joined the Federalist Society as a student in the 1980s, reportedly has not spoken to Mr Trump in five years, but as his scope for influencing the president dwindled, he began yielding another power playing tool. In 2020 Barre Seid, the Chicago billionaire, donated all of his shares in his electrical manufacturing firm Tripp Lite to one of Mr Leo's conservative non-profits. It was then sold for $1.6 billion. This funding allowed him to plough millions of dollars into amplifying religious and conservative filmmakers, the newspaper reported. Mr Leo is said to have helped fund Wonder Project, a Texas-based studio founded by Jon Erwin, the Christian director, which created House of David. The studio's tagline is: 'Restoring faith in things worth believing in.' In an Instagram post announcing it had achieved number one on the Amazon Prime chart, Wonder Project said 'all glory to God for this one'. Mr Erwin is a member of Teneo which has a subgroup focused on entertainment. Its annual conference is understood to have become a nerve centre for Christian filmmakers where creatives pitch to conservative investors. The network is understood to invest in studios rather than individual movies to achieve an ongoing impact on culture, rather than producing one-hit wonders. Wonder Project has received funding from Sovereign Capital, a Christian investment firm. John Coleman, its leader, said its objective is 'to love God and love our neighbour through investing'. Mr Leo has also reportedly given money into Sycamore Studios, which focuses on children's entertainment free of views of diversity, gender or homosexuality. 'We're not going to be the Ford Foundation to be around forever,' Mr Leo told the Wall Street Journal. 'The goal is to do our work, and at some point in time to decide that we've done what we can do and move on.' The success of House of David, which more than 22 million people streamed in the first two weeks, comes amid a surge in appetite for Christian films – one of which Mr Erwin has helped spearhead. He was the mastermind behind Jesus Revolution, a 2023 film which is based on the true story of the early days of the 'Jesus People' hippie subculture in the 1960s. It left out that the protagonist, Lonnie Frisbee, who really did kickstart the Jesus movement, was gay and died of Aids in 1993, after he was excommunicated and outcast from the movement he had founded. It made more than $50 million at the box office and when it was released it was the highest-grossing film released by the Lionsgate studio since 2019. It was the 48th highest grossing film in the US in 2023. Mr Erwin's previous works include October Baby, about young mothers finding God in an abortion clinic, and Woodland, which features young mothers finding God on an equalities march. 'Within the entertainment industry specifically, I think there's an uprising on the behalf of Christianity,' Mr Erwin previously told Christianity Today. 'I think there's a resurgence in belief and a sudden increase in spirituality in America, even though church attendance is going down. It's an exciting moment to be in the business. We're at the forefront of a return to God.' He added: 'We've only scratched the surface on what faith-based entertainment can be. We're wondering, 'How can we make the Bible a cinematic universe?'' Key players continue to make inroads. In April, Angel Studios released King of Kings, an animated film in which Charles Dickens, voiced by Kenneth Brannagh, tells the story of Jesus to his son Walter, played by Roman Griffin Davis. The film made over $60 million at the box office and is number 11 of the highest grossing films so far this year in the US, according to IMDB. Angel Studios also helped launch Biblical drama The Chosen, a series about Jesus's life. When the fifth season was released this year, they put out a three-part cinematic release. All three are in the top 50 highest-grossing box office releases so far this year, bringing in more than $43 million collectively. Mr Erwin's next directing project with Angel Studios, is Young Washington, a film about the origins of America's first president. Trump attacks Leo When it comes to the origins of Mr Trump's initial electoral success, Mr Leo was certainly a player. During the 2016 election campaign he gave Mr Trump a list of potential justices he could appoint to win over support from the Republican base. He advised Mr Trump on the nominations of Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. But last week, Mr Trump, who reportedly believes Mr Leo took too much credit for the judicial appointments, went from simply banishing Mr Leo to his close confidantes to publicly attacking him. 'I was new to Washington, and it was suggested that I use The Federalist Society as a recommending source on judges,' Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social after a US court blocked the majority of his tariffs. 'I did so, openly and freely, but then realised that they were under the thumb of a real 'sleazebag' named Leonard Leo, a bad person who, in his own way, probably hates America, and obviously has his own separate ambitions.' Responding to the jibe, Mr Leo praised Mr Trump 'transforming' the federal courts, which he said amounted to Mr Trump's 'most important legacy'. As Mr Leo moves on from Maga and begins to flex his soft power in the entertainment industry, it is clear Mr Trump was just one episode in his multi-part series on his own crusade to reshape America in his conservative, Christian vision.
