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Seoul: Former Hyundai CEO Lee Myung-bak claimed victory yesterday in South Korea's presidential election as voters overlooked fraud allegations to give him a landslide win on hopes he will revive the economy.
Lee's two main rivals conceded defeat following partial results showing him winning nearly double the votes of his closest competitor in the election that fell on his 66th birthday.
"Today, the people gave me absolute support. I'm well aware of the people's wishes," said Lee, who has also served as Seoul mayor.
"I will serve the people in a very humble way. According to the people's wishes, I will save the nation's economy that faces a crisis."
The National Election Commission said Lee had 47.6 per cent of the vote and liberal Chung Dong-young was a distant second at 27.1 per cent, with 73.6 per cent of ballots counted.
The office of President Roh Moo-hyun congratulated Lee on his win.
"We respect the people's choice shown in this election," presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-seon said in a statement.
Pledge
Lee has pledged to take a more critical view of Seoul's engagement with rival North Korea and seek closer US ties. Efforts to end North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions stand at a critical juncture, with the communist country set to disclose all its programs for eventual dismantlement by a year-end deadline.
Just days before the election, the parliament voted to authorise an independent counsel's investigation into Lee in a stock manipulation case where prosecutors had already cleared him of wrongdoing. The counsel is to complete the probe before the Feb. 25 inauguration, and Lee has said he would step aside from the presidency if found at fault.
Hundreds of supporters watching results on a giant TV in front of the Grand National Party's headquarters burst into song last evening as Lee's victory became clear.
"I am very happy and it is like retaking democracy after a decade" of liberal rule, said Park Mi-won, a housewife in her 50s.
Unlike previous elections dominated by debates over security policy with rival North Korea or relations with the United States, this year voters were focused on the economy matters due to concern over sky-high real estate prices, soaring unemployment and a widening gap between rich and poor.
The Bulldozer
Nicknamed "The Bulldozer" for his get-the-job-done attitude, Lee's support has been bolstered due to dissatisfaction over the five-year term of liberal President Roh, who was constitutionally barred from seeking re-election.
In 2002, Roh was elected after pledging not to "kowtow" to the US while also continuing the rapprochement with the North fostered by his predecessor and fellow liberal Kim Dae-jung, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his "sunshine" policy of engagement with Pyongyang.
Lee has made the economy central to his campaign, pledging to raise annual growth to 7 per cent, double the country's per capita income to $40,000 (Dh146,800) and lift South Korea to among the world's top seven economies - known as his "747" pledge.
Lee first gained prominence as head of Hyundai's construction unit that symbolised South Korea's meteoric economic rise in the 1960-70s. As Seoul mayor from 2002-2006, he made his mark by opening up a paved-over stream to create a landmark. "I feel good that the right person was elected. I voted for him because he is an economic president," said Lee Myung-ja, 60, a housewife who was among crowds gathered to watch vote results near the stream in central Seoul.
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