The National Election Commission (NEC) on March 10 said President-elect Yoon won with 16,394,815 votes, or 48.56%, in the March 9 presidential election. Runner-up Lee Jaemyung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea earned 16,147,738 votes, or 47.83%.
The margin of victory was 0.73 percentage point, or 247,077 votes, making this race the closest since the 1987 adoption of the direct election system. The second-tightest race came in 1997, when Kim Dae-jung of the National Congress for New Politics narrowly beat Lee Hoi-chang of the Grand National Party by just 1.53 percentage points or 390,557 votes.
"The result today represents a victory of our great people, not that of the People Power Party or People's Party," President-elect Yoon said at the election situation room of the National Assembly Library in the Yeouido area of Seoul's Yeongdeungpo-gu District.
"While campaigning for the election, I learned a lot about what is needed to become leader of a country and how to listen to the voices of the people," he added. "While preparing to set up a new government and officially assume the presidency as president-elect, I will honor the spirit of the Constitution, respect the legislature and cooperate with the opposition party to properly serve the people."
Candidate Lee conceded defeat to his rival at a predawn news conference at the headquarters of the Democratic Party in Yeouido.
"I gave it my all but failed to meet expectations," he said, congratulating President-elect Yoon on his victory. "I earnestly request that the president-elect open an age of integration and harmony by overcoming division and conflict."
President Moon Jae-in made a congratulatory phone call to his successor, saying, "You did a great job in a tough election."
Cheong Wa Dae Spokesperson Park Kyung-mee told a briefing that President Moon on March 10 from 9:10 a.m. talked for five minutes to the president-elect, saying, "It is important to wash away conflict and division in the election process and achieve integration for the people to become one."
President Moon also had his Chief of Staff Yoo Young-min send Korean orchids to the president-elect.
The White House of the U.S. also congratulated Korea's next head of state. Reuters on March 9 said a White House spokesperson quoted U.S. President Joe Biden as saying, "We congratulate President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol."
The spokesperson added, "President Biden looks forward to continue working with the new President-elect to further expand our close cooperation."
The president-elect started his first official schedule by paying his respects at Seoul National Cemetery. After receiving a certificate of election from the NEC, he will legally gain the status of president-elect and assume office on May 5, the final day of the Moon administration, for a five-year term.
Meanwhile, the NEC said voter turnout in the presidential election was 77.1%, or a tenth of a percentage point lower than in 2017. Of 44,197,692 eligible voters in this election, 33,454,249 voted at 14,464 polling stations nationwide.
