ⓒYONHAP News

Yoon Suk Yeol of the main opposition People Power Party(PPP) has been elected new president of South Korea after a tight race. The former prosecutor general defeated the ruling Democratic Party’s Lee Jae-myung by less than one percentage point.

Yoon Suk Yeol of the People Power Party(PPP) has been confirmed as South Korea's new president.

The National Election Commission(NEC) said that the counting of votes for the presidential election finished Thursday morning. Out of a total 34 million voters who cast their ballots, 48-point-56 percent chose Yoon to be the country's 20th president.

Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party(DP) finished second with 47-point-83 percent of the vote. Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party came in third with two-point-37 percent.

Lee and Sim both conceded defeat.

Earlier exit poll results released by the country's three terrestrial broadcasters KBS, MBC, and SBS had predicted a tight race between Yoon and Lee, with Yoon garnering 48-point-four percent of support and Lee winning 47-point-eight percent.

With the difference between the two leading candidates standing at zero-point-73 percentage points, it is the closest presidential election since a direct electoral system was implemented in South Korea in 1987.

The closest presidential election before this year's election was in 1997 when Kim Dae-jung was elected to be the 15th president, winning with a mere one-point-53 percentage point gap against his opponent Lee Hoe-chang.

 Yoon's win comes less than a year after he announced his will to enter politics.

Yoon Suk Yeol served as the prosecutor general under President Moon Jae-in from 2019 to 2021. He stepped down from the position in March 2021 following months of conflict with the administration over weakening the prosecution's power and investigations into the president's allies.

His main pledges include establishing an emergency COVID-19 relief headquarters under the president, supplying more homes to bring down runaway property prices and overhauling the presidential office. He also promises to pursue carbon neutrality through reliance on both renewable and nuclear energy.

Yoon will serve as the 20th president of the Republic of Korea for the next five years, with his term beginning on May 10.

Yoon pledged to run his administration based on his faith in the general public and a commitment to uphold the people's wishes.

In his first press conference as president-elect on Thursday, Yoon said he believes that he was elected by the people to restore fairness and common sense in society and to conduct politics of unity.

Pledging to put the public and their interests ahead of seeking political gain in managing state affairs, Yoon said he will distance himself from forces or ideologies that threaten a free democracy and sternly respond to corruption.

The president-elect also promised to maintain dialogue with the National Assembly and cooperate with the opposition in state affairs.

On North Korea, Yoon pledged to respond firmly to Pyongyang's unlawful and irrational actions based on principle, while leaving the door open for inter-Korean dialogue. He expressed intent to reinforce the alliance with the U.S.

The president-elect also promised to transition into a people-based economy, where jobs are created within the private sector, and to expand the country's middle class.

Yoon also held his first phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday and reaffirmed the bilateral alliance and close coordination on North Korea between their two nations. They also promised to meet in person at an early date.

According to the People Power Party, Yoon received the call at his home at around 10 a.m. which lasted for 20 minutes. The call came five hours after Yoon delivered his victory speech.

Biden congratulated the president-elect on his win and expressed hope of expanding bilateral cooperation on various issues, including challenges posed by the pandemic and climate change.

Yoon thanked Biden for the greetings and expressed respect for U.S. leadership in the Russia-Ukraine crisis. He also emphasized the need for stronger cooperation between the allies over North Korea's recent provocations and called for closer interest from Biden in Korean Peninsula affairs.

Biden said the U.S. was keeping tabs on the situation in North Korea and underlined the importance of trilateral coordination also involving Japan.

He also asked Yoon to visit the White House once he takes office. Yoon thanked Biden for the invitation saying he also hopes to meet him soon.

Yoon spoke to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday. The two agreed to improve frayed bilateral ties amid colonial-era disputes and to further cooperate in dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue.

Yoon's spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said the president-elect suggested that the two sides work together to promote friendly cooperation, as they jointly face many tasks concerning Northeast Asia's security and economic prosperity.

Calling for a rational resolution to disputes in a way that coincides with mutual interests, Yoon expressed hope for the two sides and the U.S. to further reinforce their three-way coordination in addressing Korean Peninsula issues.

The two also agreed to work towards a leaders' summit soon after Yoon's inauguration in May.

Yoon also spoke to Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Xing Haiming on Friday. Yoon told China's top envoy to South Korea that he was certain that Seoul-Beijing relations will further develop in the future, noting China is South Korea's biggest trade partner, while South Korea is China's third largest.

In reference to the commemoration of 30 years of diplomatic ties dating back to 1992, Yoon said such a relationship is of great help to people in both countries and also advanced economic progress.

Xing delivered a congratulatory message from Chinese President Xi Jinping, in which the Chinese leader called South Korea a close neighbor and important cooperative partner.

Assessing that bilateral ties have benefited people from both nations and contributed toward world peace, safety, prosperity and development, Xi said his country was willing to promote a stable and long-term development of their strategic cooperative partnership.