South Korean ruling party candidate concedes defeat in Presidential election

Seoul: The candidate from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Lee Jae-myung, admitted defeat in the South Korean presidential election and congratulated his rival, Yoon Suk-yeol from the conservative People Power Party, on the victory after 98 per cent of the votes were counted.

"This is not your defeat, and not the defeat of the Democratic Party. All responsibility lies with me.

Congratulations to Candidate Yoon Suk-yeol," Lee said as aired by Korean broadcaster JTBC. Voter turnout in South Korea's presidential election, held on March 9, has been estimated at 77.1 per cent.

Out of nearly 44.2 million eligible voters, a total of over 34 million have cast their ballots, including 16 million of those who had already voted in the early voting last Friday and Saturday.

The South Korean president is elected through a one-round ballot by a relative majority of votes. According to the National Electoral Commission, as of 19:00 GMT 98 per cent of the votes have been counted, with Yoon Suk-yeol gaining 48.59 per cent, followed by Lee Jae-myung with 47.79 per cent.

The final difference is expected to be less than 1 per cent.