According to the National Election Commission on May 10, Moon Jae-in secured 41.08%, defeating the two major rivals with a comfortable lead, the runner-up Hong Joon-pyo of the conservative Liberty Korea Party who garnered 24.03% and Ahn Cheol-soo of the centrist People's Party who received 21.41%.

Moon won in all regions of cities and provinces except three regions of South Gyeongsang Province, North Gyeongsang Province and Daegu City which are traditionally the conservative political bases. All age groups of the voters also supported Moon Jae-in the most, except those aged over 60.

When the exit polls showed Moon's comfortable victory and he was certain to win the election even in the early stage of the vote counting, he appeared before the party members and supporters who gathered in Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul to express his deepest and sincere gratitude in the late evening of May 9.

In his speech, Moon declared that he will become a president for all the people, and he will become a unity president to serve the people who supported him or not in the election. He reiterated that he is committed to build a country where justice prevails, where principles are observed, where the people win, and where common sense is a virtue.

Moon Jae-in will be sworn in the morning of May 10, immediately after the official announcement of his election as the 19th president, the very next day after the election, as this was a snap election. He will take office promptly without the power transition time of about two months which are normally given to launch a new government.

Moon Jae-in is faced with the formidable challenges of the eradication of deep-rooted corruption and social ills and the formation of national unity, and the issues to address the sluggish national economy, unemployment, North Korea's nuclear crisis and the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense(THAAD) anti-missile battery.

reported by Yon Yun-jeong
translated by Kim Sung-jin