Thank you for staying on our coverage on South Korea's presidential election, we are closing the page now.

But before that, here's a quick recap of key moments over the past few hours:

• Lee Jae-myung, the centrist candidate from the Democratic Party, has been elected the country's next leader. In his victory speech he vowed to reboot South Korea's economy and make peace with the North
• The People Power Party's candidate Kim Moon-soo - a former member of ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol's cabinet - conceded defeat about an hour ago
• Lee will take office on Wednesday morning after an inauguration ceremony, which is expected to be scaled down from the usual

Just before we sign off, a reminder that this page was brought to you by Yvette Tan, Woongbee Lee, David Oh, Juna Moon, Yuna Ku, Rachel Lee, Hyojung Kim, Jean Mackenzie and Shaimaa Khalil from Seoul, Gavin Butler, Ayeshea Perera, Fan Wang and Kelly Ng from Singapore, James Chater from Sydney, and Caitlin Wilson from DC.

With more than 90% of the votes counted, Lee has been officially declared the winner of South Korea's 2025 presidential election.

As of 02:30 local time (17:30 GMT), he has secured 48.8% of the ballots counted, with over 2.18 million votes still to be tallied.

A win becomes official when the leading candidate has more votes than the second candidate plus all the remaining uncounted ones.

Image source, Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images

As Lee prepares to assume office in a few hours, attention has now shifted to who will his cabinet.

Local media have widely reported that Kim Min-seok, a prominent figure in the pro-Lee faction of the Democratic Party, is being floated as the next prime minister.

In South Korea, the prime minister is the deputy head of the government, as appointed by the president.

It is unclear what will happen to Lee Jae-myung's criminal cases now that he has won the presidency.

Among them are allegations that he has violated election laws by denying his ties with someone at the centre of a land corruption scandal in 2021. He has also been charged with forcing a witness to give false testimony during a 2019 trial.

Each court will now have to decide, at its own discretion, whether the trials - which were supposed to be postponed until after the election - will even proceed.

It is also unclear whether presidential immunity, which will be granted to Lee when he takes office, will apply to these earlier charges.

Shaimaa Khalil
in Seoul

Image source, BBC/Shaimaa Khalil

Even before Kim Moon-soo conceded defeat, the Democratic Party rally had turned into party central.

Now it very much feels like a victory rally.

A song with Lee Jae-myung's name is blasting and crowds are waving their hands and blue sparkling batons in the air.

"Is this a dream or is this reality">The crowd here is charged and triumphant, but the country is still divided. Uniting this fractured country is an urgent task that awaits Lee.

Lee fought the election as a referendum on martial law - it workedpublished at 17:50 British Summer Time 3 June

17:50 BST 3 June

Jean Mackenzie
Seoul correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

It is six months to the day that South Koreans fought off a military takeover by their former president Yoon Suk Yeol. Tonight, they have punished his party, putting the opposition back power.

The new president, Lee Jae-myung, fought this election as a referendum on martial law – promising to be the leader who would make sure this never happens again – and it worked.

Lee was once seen as a divisive character. He lost the last election three years ago and is facing multiple criminal charges. But over the past month he has managed to bring together people of all shades of politics, convinced that he is the only person who can steer South Korea back onto safe ground.

But before he can fix the country, Lee must deal with urgent challenges abroad. There are existential negotiations to be had with President Trump – not just about tariffs, but South Korea’s security. The US helps defend South Korea from the North, meaning there are thousands of troops stationed here, but Trump is reportedly considering removing some of them.

In the past Lee has been sceptical about Korea’s alliance with the US. His tone has softened slightly during this campaign, but at the same time he has said he wants to strengthen ties with China. This could cause friction between Seoul and Washington.

Kim Moon-soo's concession means Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung has won the election to be South Korea's next leader.

In a speech just concluded, Lee vowed to restore the country's economy and to make peace in the Korean peninsula.

In his concession speech, Kim Moon-soo says he "respectfully accepts the choice of the people".

"Congratulations to Lee Jae-myung on his election victory," he says.

The People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo has conceded defeat.

In a very brief speech, he acknowledged the results and thanked his ers - and congratulated Lee Jae-myung.

Image source, Kang Hyung-bin

Earlier we reported how Lee stressed that "power comes from the people".

The "first duty" that South Koreans had given him, he says, is to "recover the democracy of the country".

The second, he says, is to recover the economy.

"Tomorrow, from the moment that I am confirmed as elected, I will use all my strengths to recover from your painful life, in the fastest speed," he says.

To be clear, Lee has not explicitly claimed victory, but acknowledged that he is leading based on votes counted so far.

Lee also touched on security in his speech. He vowed to make the Korean peninsula peaceful, saying he will hold dialogues with North Korea.

"Creating peace is a more certain way of creating security," he says, addressing a crowd of about 5,000 in front of the National Assembly.

He also urged South Koreans to "learn to live together in this community" and not to be divided.

Image source, Kang Hyung-bin

Tonight's result proves that the "power comes from the people", Lee says.

"We've proved that that power is not to be used for the president's personal interests, but for the bright future of this country," he says, adding that he will work to restore the economy from day one.

Lee Jae-myung, who is widely projected to win the election, is now speaking outside the National Assembly.

The 61-year-old opened his speech by thanking voters.

"I will not forget for a second the duty you gave me. I will conduct it thoroughly," he says.

Image source, Getty Images

People Power Party's candidate Kim Moon-soo is expected to speak at 01:30 local time (16:30 GMT), according to local media.

This comes after major broadcasters projected a victory for Democratic Party's Lee Jae-myung. Kim is expected to meet reporters at his party's headquarters.

About 60% of the votes have been counted now, and as it stands, Lee Jae-myung has won 48.8% of the votes and Kim Moon-soo, 42.8%.

The margin between the two men has widened in the past hour as more votes have been counted.

Lee Jae-myung has arrived at the headquarters of his Democratic Party in Yeouido, Seoul, after major broadcasters projected him to win the election.

He is expected to meet of the party there, according to local media.

Image source, Getty Images

South Korea has been struggling to pick up the pieces after former president Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in December.

Yoon's immediate replacement, Han Duck-soo, was impeached by parliament less than two weeks into his new job as acting president, as lawmakers tussled over the selection of judges in Yoon's impeachment case.

Yoon was arrested and impeached for his martial law attempt. He is also being charged with insurrection, and if convicted could face life in prison or even the death penalty.

The current acting president is education minister Lee Ju-ho, who was fourth in line to the top job.

Yoon's ill-fated martial law bid plunged South Korea into a political maelstrom, and left his People Power Party in tatters.

Now, exactly six months later, it appears to have had another unintended outcome: clearing the path for Lee to become president.

Image source, Reuters

Lee Jae-myung has just spoken from outside his home in Incheon, as broadcasters declare he has prevailed.

"The votes are still being counted so I don't know what to say yet," Lee said.

"If the result is confirmed in this way, I'd like to show respect to the great decision our people have made."

"I will not let you down for the huge responsibility and mission you give me. I will try my best," he said, rounding up his brief speech with a bow.

Image source, EPA

With more than 40% of votes counted, South Korea's top four broadcasters - KBS, MBC, SBS and JTBC - have called a Lee Jae-myung victory.

Earlier, a t exit poll by three broadcasters projected Lee winning 51.7% of the votes, versus People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo's 39.3%.

The provisional voter turnout for this election is 79.4%, according to local media reports.

This marks the highest turnout in South Korea since 1997. The record high was 89.2% in 1987, when the country held its first direct presidential election following nationwide pro-democracy protests.

Turnout hovered around 77% in the last two presidential elections.