South Korea’s presidential election appears to have created a close race between the two main candidates striving to lead the country for five years. Exit polls show Conservative Yoon Suk-yeol with 48.4% and liberal Lee Jae-myung with 47.8%. Another exit poll showed Lee with 48.4% and Yoon with 47.7%.
Election officials said the result may take longer to determine as there is extending voting time for COVID-19 patients and the winner may not be clear until Thursday. Voter turnout was 77.1% and about 16 million ballots were cast during early voting last week. South Korea’s new president will face challenges such as deepening inequality, a low birth rate, high housing prices and continuing Covid-19 issues.
Read more: South Korea presidential election: Exit polls show dead heat
