South Korea votes for new president after months of turmoil triggered by Yoon’s martial law

The main conservative candidate Kim Moon Soo has struggled to keep moderate and swing voters by his side as his People Power Party remains in a complex situation of how to view Yoon’s actions leading to internal feud in the party.

Supporters of Kim Moon Soo, presidential candidate with the People Power Party, attend his campaign rally in Seoul, South Korea. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Polling started at 6am in South Korea on Tuesday and the voting is allowed until 8pm, following early voting on Thursday and Friday, when more than a third of the 44.39 million eligible voters cast their votes.

As of 7am, 2.4% of the electorate or 1.08 million people had voted at 14,295 polling stations around the country, according to the National Election Commission.

Challenges for new president

The new leader of South Korea would face a challenge of rallying the country which has been deeply affected by the martial law imposition and the political chaos that followed.

A domestic divide has worsened the situation after Yoon’s attempt to destablise the country, and South Korea, which is an export-driven economy, is also facing the unpredictable protectionist moves by the US President Donald Trump, a slowing economy and North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats, all of which would act as a political burden on the new president.

The voting is scheduled to end at 8pm on Tuesday, however, it remains unclear when the results would be declared. The winning candidate is expected to be sworn-in as president on Wednesday, for a full five-year term, skipping a traditional two-month transition period.