South Korea's Lee Ahead in Exit Polls

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-SKorea-Presidential-Election.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
By the Associated Press
December 19, 2007

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Former Hyundai CEO Lee Myung-bak claimed victory Wednesday in South Korea's presidential election, as voters overlooked fraud allegations in hopes he will revive the economy. [...]

Lee, a former Seoul mayor who turned 66 on election day, has led the race for months. His victory ends a decade of liberal rule in the South, during which the country embarked on unprecedented reconciliation with rival North Korea that has led to restored trade and travel across the heavily armed frontier dividing the peninsula. [...]

Candidate Lee Hoi-chang, who was trailing in third with 15.7 percent of the vote, congratulated Lee Myung-bak on his win.

''I hope he would uphold the people's yearning for a change in government and correct what the outgoing government has done wrong in the past,'' he told reporters.

The office of liberal President Roh Moo-hyun congratulated Lee.

''We respect the people's choice shown in this election,'' presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-seon said in a statement. [...]

Lee has pledged to take a more critical view of Seoul's engagement with North Korea and seek closer U.S. ties. Efforts to end North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions stand at a critical juncture, with the communist country set to disclose all its programs for eventual dismantlement by a year-end deadline.

State Department spokesman Tom Casey congratulated Lee on his victory.

''We have a long history of cooperation and friendship with South Korea and fully expect that'll continue with this new government,'' he said. ''Certainly, we've got a number of important issues on our bilateral agenda including our mutual cooperation in the six-party talks.'' [...]

Nicknamed ''The Bulldozer'' for his can-do business acumen, Lee's support has been bolstered due to dissatisfaction over the five-year term of Roh, who was constitutionally barred from seeking re-election.

In 2002, Roh was elected after pledging not to ''kowtow'' to the U.S. while also continuing the rapprochement with the North fostered by his predecessor and fellow liberal Kim Dae-jung, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his ''sunshine'' policy of engagement with Pyongyang.