YOON SUK-YEOL of the main conservative opposition People Power Party won a narrow victory in the South Korean presidential election amid people’s aspiration for transfer of power.

Yoon garnered a 48.56-percent support in the election held on Wednesday, defeating his liberal rival by a narrow margin, according to the final results released by the National Election Commission on Thursday.

Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party gained 47.83 percent, and Sim Sang-jung of the progressive Justice Party won 2.37 percent of the votes.

Yoon celebrated with jubilant party officials at the National Assembly building, saying in an aired speech that it was a victory of the great people.

The president-elect expressed thanks to his rivals, Lee and Sim who competed with him to the end, saying that the whole country should work together and be united as the competition ended.

Yoon’s election indicated a strong aspiration among his supporters for the transfer of power from the current liberal Moon Jae-in government to the conservative bloc.

“On March 9, 2022, I’ll make the transfer of power a reality and my new government will create changes,” Yoon said in his New Year’s message earlier this year.

Yoon pledged to realize sustainable peace and safety on the Korean Peninsula through a complete, verifiable denuclearization of the peninsula.

He vowed to come up with all possible measures to resume the stalled denuclearization talks on the peninsula in cooperation with the United States.

Yoon said he will rebuild the South Korea-U.S. alliance and strengthen the comprehensive strategic alliance between Seoul and Washington, vowing to actively push for the economic security diplomacy.

He also pledged to build the South Korea-China relationship based on mutual respect while expanding the future horizon of the South Korea-Russia relations.

To boost economic growth, Yoon is expected to take a market liberalistic policy as he is opposed to the government’s economic intervention based on his firm belief in economic liberalism.

The two other major candidates in the election conceded defeat to Yoon when the votes counting was almost completed amid a neck-and-neck race between Yoon and Lee.

Lee of the Democratic Party said in a televised address that it was neither the failure of people nor that of the governing party, laying all the blame on himself.

Lee offered his congratulations to Yoon, hoping that the new president would open a new era of unity and harmony in South Korea.

Yoon is scheduled to be sworn in as the South Korean president May 10.

The president-elect was born Dec. 18, 1960 in Seoul. He was the first of two children and his parents were former university professors.

Yoon studied law at the prestigious Seoul National University and he started his career as a public prosecutor in 1994. He briefly worked as a lawyer in 2002.

After returning to the prosecution office, Yoon investigated into political heavyweights and business tycoons.

Yoon was demoted in 2013 when he led a special investigation team to probe into the involvement of the National Intelligence Service, the country’s spy agency, in the public opinion manipulation scandal.

He became the head of the investigation team of an independent counsel, who looked into the influence-peddling scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon-sil. It led to the impeachment of Park in March 2017.

In May 2017, the newly elected President Moon Jae-in named Yoon as chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office, appointing him as prosecutor general in July 2019.

Yoon stepped down as prosecutor general last March and officially declared his candidacy for president last June. He officially joined the People Power Party in July last year.

(Xinhua)