Presidential candidates Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (left) and Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (Yonhap)
The ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea’s Lee Jae-myung and the conservative People Power Party’s Yoon Suk-yeol are running neck and neck in the presidential election, exit polls showed Wednesday evening.
According to an exit poll conducted by the country’s three major broadcast companies -- SBS, KBS and MBC -- the People Power Party’s Yoon is expected to take over 48.4 percent of the vote, edging out his competitor Lee at 47.8 percent.
On the other hand, according to JTBC, which conducted a separate exit poll, Lee is expected to win 48.4 percent of the vote, squeaking past Yoon’s 47.7 percent.
The three major broadcast companies’ predictions have boasted a 100 percent accuracy rate since they started conducting exit polls in 2002.
However, the accuracy of the latest exit poll is uncertain this time around, as the country saw record-high early voting turnout of 36.93 percent -- which is not included in the exit polls.
Votes from COVID-19 patients, who voted from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., are also not included in the exit polls, which also could potentially influence the outcome of the country’s presidential election.
