2025 South Korea presidential election live: Frontrunner Lee Jae-myung faces conservative rival Kim Moon-soo
What's happening?
South Koreans vote for their next president
First exit polls expected at 8 p.m. KST (1100 GMT)
Liberal Lee Jae-myung is the frontrunner
Main rival is conservative Kim Moon-soo
Martial law imposed by Yoon Suk Yeol in December weighs heavy
Read our wrapup here
The top three candidates based on a recent Gallup Korea poll are:
Liberal frontrunner Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, with 49% public support.
Lee's main conservative rival Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party, with 35%.
Another conservative candidate, Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party, with 11%.
All of the candidates remaining in the race are men with no women in the final lineup for the first time since 2007, according to the National Election Commission (NEC).
South Korea has only had one female leader, Park Geun-hye.
The youngest candidate is Lee Jun-seok, who is 40, and the oldest is Kim Moon-soo at 73.
South Koreans vote for a new president after martial law crisis
13 minutes ago
04:02 EDT
Jack Kim
Welcome to our live coverage of South Korea's presidential election on Tuesday.
The election caps six months of turmoil triggered by a shock martial law briefly imposed by former leader Yoon Suk Yeol in December.
The new leader will face the challenge of rallying a society deeply scarred by the attempt at military rule and an export-heavy economy reeling from unpredictable protectionist moves by the United States, a major trading partner and a security ally.
Turnout is expected to be high. As of 3 p.m. (0600 GMT), 30.5 million people, or nearly 69% of the electorate, had voted at 14,295 locations, according to the National Election Commission.
Both liberal frontrunner Lee Jae-myung and his conservative rival Kim Moon-soo have pledged change for the country. They say a political system and economic model set up during its rise as a budding democracy and industrial power are no longer fit for purpose
But overshadowing any economic or social policy initiatives is Yoon's botched attempt to impose martial law that has loomed large over the poll.
Lee is favoured to win, according to polls released a week before the vote, leading Kim by 14 percentage points with 49% public support in a Gallup Korea survey.
Exit polls conducted by three television networks will be released at the close of the polls at 8 p.m.
Stay with us for the latest as we get it.
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