South Koreans cast votes for new president to succeed Yoon after his ouster over martial law declaration

Millions of South Korean voters are casting their ballots on Tuesday for a new president in a snap electoral contest following the ouster of former President Yoon Suk Yeol Yoon a conservative faces trial on rebellion charges over his short-lived martial law declaration in December Pre-election surveys suggested Lee Jae-myung Yoon s liberal archrival appeared poised to coast to triumph due to constituents frustration over the conservatives in the wake of Yoon s martial law decree The main conservative candidate Kim Moon Soo has struggled to win over moderate swing voters as his People Power Party grapples with internal feuding over how to view Yoon s actions SOUTH KOREA FACES HIGH-STAKES ELECTORAL CONTEST FEARS OVER CHINA NORTH KOREA US TIES SHAPE VOTER CONCERNSOver the past six months large crowds of people rallied in the streets to either protest against Yoon or come to his sponsorship The winner of the polling will without delay be sworn in as president on Wednesday for a single full five-year term without the typical two-month transition period The new president will face considerable challenges including a slowing market system U S President Donald Trump s tariffs and North Korea s nuclear threats Voting began at a m at more than polling stations nationwide Polls will close at p m and observers say a winner could be declared as early as midnight SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT REMOVED FROM OFFICE FOUR MONTHS AFTER DECLARING MARTIAL LAWAs of p m local time more than million people had cast their ballots Roughly million also voted during last week s two-day early voting period meaning voter turnout stood at South Korea has million eligible voters On Tuesday Lee whose Democratic Party led the legislative effort to oust Yoon urged voters to deliver a stern and resolute judgement against the conservatives over Yoon's martial law declaration In one of his final campaign speeches on Monday Lee argued that a win by Kim would represent the return of the rebellion forces the destruction of democracy and the deprival of people s human rights He also vowed to revitalize the market system reduce inequality and ease national divisions Kim a former labor minister under Yoon warned that a win by Lee would allow him to hold excessive power launch political retaliation against opponents and legislate laws to protect him from various legal troubles as his party already has control of parliament Lee is now trying to seize all power in South Korea and establish a Hitler-like dictatorship Kim revealed at a rally in the southeastern city of Busan The Associated Press contributed to this record