Lee Jae-myung elected as South Korean president, exit polls say • Man who led campaign to oust Yoon Suk Yeol comfortably ahead of conservative opponent, according to polls

Exit polls in South Korea have projected that Lee Jae-myung will become the country’s new president after a snap election triggered by a brief period of martial law imposed by the now-impeached former leader Yoon Suk Yeol.

After polls closed in what Lee described as “judgment day” for Asia’s fourth-biggest economy, the broadcaster MBN put Lee, the Democratic party candidate, on 49.2% of the vote, comfortably ahead of his closest rival, the conservative Kim Moon-soo, on 41.7%. A joint exit poll by three other broadcasters showed Lee with 51.7% and Kim with 39.3%.

Lee, a 61-year-old former human rights lawyer who had made two failed attempts to reach the presidential Blue House, rode a wave of public anger that followed Yoon’s declaration of martial law in early December.

The order, which was overturned in a matter of hours, sparked South Korea’s biggest political crisis in decades. The country is also battling an economic downturn, income inequality and doubts over the US’s commitment to its security under Donald Trump.

Lee, a frontrunner since the start of the campaign, will face several major challenges, including a slowing economy, Trump’s trade war and the nuclear threat posed by North Korea. In his final campaign speeches, Lee promised to revitalise the economy, reduce inequality and ease national divisions.