Exit polls released after South Korea's hard-fought presidential election on Wednesday indicated that results for the two main candidates -- an outspoken liberal governing party candidate and a conservative former top prosecutor -- were too close to call.
The election has boiled down to a two-way showdown between liberal Lee Jae-myung, the former governor of Gyeonggi province, and his main conservative challenger, Yoon Suk Yeol. The two spent months slamming, mocking and demonizing each other in one of the most bitter political campaigns in recent memory, aggravating the country's already severe domestic divisions.
About 44 million South Koreans aged 18 or order were eligible to vote, out of the country's 52 million people. About 16 million cast ballots during early voting last week. The tentative turnout was 77.1% after polls closed Wednesday, the fifth highest ever since the country restored direct presidential elections in 1987 following decades of military dictatorship, according to the National Election Commission.
"Despite the significance of this year's election, the race has centered too much on negative campaigning," said Jang Seung-Jin, a professor at Seoul's Kookmin University, adding that neither leading candidate laid out a convincing blueprint on how they would lead South Korea. While Lee and Yoon have some similar economic and welfare policies, they've clashed over North Korea and other foreign policy issues.
"I would him some manners and make him come to his senses completely," Yoon told a rally near Seoul.
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