South Korea’s presidential contenders make final pitches on eve of election
The winner of the election is expected to be known early Wednesday
On the eve of South Korea’s election to choose a successor to ousted president Park Geun-hye, the candidates on Monday made last-ditch efforts to sway voters.
The latest voter surveys show Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea maintaining a solid lead over his two main rivals with some 35-40 per cent of support.
The polls show Ahn Cheol-soo of the centrist People’s Party and Hong Joon-pyo of the conservative Liberty Korea Party in a neck-and-neck race for second place.
“Please open a new world by overwhelmingly supporting me,” Moon, a former human rights lawyer and chief staff to the late liberal president Roh Moo-hyun, said in a statement released on Facebook.
Referring to rising tensions over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes and the sluggish local economy, Moon said South Korea is ready to overcome the challenges with reforms and efforts to unify the nation.
“The nation faces a situation of multiple crises, and the new president should start management of state affairs even without a transition committee,” Moon said.
