STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Exit polls are out today in South Korea after a snap election for a new president, and it appears the opposition party candidate is projected to win solidly. Voters appear to have punished the ruling party, whose former president was impeached and removed from office after he tried to declare martial law. NPR's Anthony Kuhn has been talking with voters and following the results. Hi there, Anthony.
ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE: Hey, Steve.
INSKEEP: So how close was it?
KUHN: Not that close. Front-runner Lee Jae-myung has held a double-digit lead the whole time. He won by a comfortable 52% of the vote to his conservative rival's 39%. Voter turnout appears to be quite high. This was a shocking and traumatic experience. Martial law was clearly a crucial factor in Lee Jae-myung's win. We spoke to a 43-year-old voter, Choi Soo-ji (ph), who was there with her young son outside the polls, and she told us she remembers seeing tanks in her neighborhood after martial law was declared. Let's hear her.
CHOI SOO-JI: (Speaking Korean).
KUHN: "When we saw the news the next morning, my children got very scared, she said, and we were also very nervous, wondering what was going on. I just felt so sorry that our children had to experience and see all that, things we had only seen in movies and books."
So it really shook South Korea's confidence in their democracy. It spurred many people to take to the streets to defend democracy, and it also seems to have propelled them to the polls today to hold their politicians accountable.
INSKEEP: OK, so this is the new leader of a vital U.S. ally. It's somebody we're going to be hearing from a lot, I would imagine. Help me pronounce the name again. Lee Jae-myung, is that right?
KUHN: South Koreans pronounce it Lee Jae-myung.
INSKEEP: Lee Jae-myung.
KUHN: And he...
INSKEEP: Thank you.
KUHN: Yeah.
INSKEEP: Thank you. Tell me a little bit about him.
KUHN: He's a former human rights lawyer. He has led the left-of-center opposition Democratic Party, but recently, he's moderated his liberal stances to appeal to centrist voters. And in his campaign promises, he has promised more checks and balances to limit presidential power, avoid another power grab like this martial law incident. And he's also promised a stronger safety net, including subsidies to young families to help boost the country's plunging birth rate.
INSKEEP: Now, I noticed that, although the vote to get rid of the former president was overwhelming in the legislature, ultimately his conservative party did manage to retain 39% of the vote.
KUHN: That's right. Ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol succeeded in rallying his conservative base even while he was being impeached. Also front-runner Lee Jae-myung has been dogged by allegations of corruption the whole time, and we spoke to one voter named Chang Cheol-ho who was concerned about these charges and voted for the ruling party candidate Kim Moon-soo. Let's hear from Mr. Chang.
CHANG CHEOL-HO: (Speaking Korean).
KUHN: "If that kind of criminal becomes president," he said, "I think there will be no future for South Korea's democracy. China is encroaching on our economy and politics, and I can't let my grandchildren live in a Chinese colony."
So South Korean conservatives are distrustful of China, and they see Lee Jae-myung as too friendly towards South Korea's big neighbor.
INSKEEP: How does the winner handle the United States?
KUHN: He wants to keep the alliance with the U.S. ironclad, and he says he's willing to help President Trump if he wants to reach out to North Korea.
INSKEEP: NPR's Anthony Kuhn in Seoul. Thanks so much for the update.
KUHN: You're welcome.
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