Mr Lee led the opposition to Mr Yoon’s declaration of martial law, the first such order since South Korea democratised in the late 1980s. By contrast, Kim Moon-soo, the standard-bearer for the conservative People Power Party ( PPP ),

South Koreans headed to the polls in record numbers on Tuesday to vote for a new president exactly six months after the botched martial law decree by impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol unleashed political turmoil.

South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is projected to be the new president following a snap election on Tuesday, according to an exit poll by Korean broadcasters, in a vote held exactly six months after the country’s previous leader declared martial law and plunged the nation into chaos.