South Koreans voted for a new president Wednesday in an election widely expected to end a decade of liberal rule _ if the nation can overlook a scandal that has tainted the front-runner.
Lee Myung-bak of the conservative Grand National Party, who has pledged to be a business-friendly leader who will boost the economy, has led in opinion polls throughout the race by large margins. A former Hyundai CEO and Seoul mayor, he has also said he would take a more critical view of Seoul's engagement with rival North Korea while seeking closer U.S. ties.
But just days before the vote, the parliament voted to authorize an independent counsel investigation into Lee in a stock manipulation case where prosecutors had already cleared him of wrongdoing. The counsel is to complete the probe before the Feb. 25 inauguration, and Lee has said he would step aside from the presidency if found at fault.
Some 37 million voters in this country of 49 million people were eligible to vote in the fifth election since the direct presidential ballot was restored in 1987 following a wave of democratization that ended years of authoritarian military rule.
Voter turnout was 36.7 percent as of 1 p.m. (0400 GMT), according to the National Election Commission. The day was declared as a national holiday.
Election turnout was expected to hit a record low largely due to increasing public apathy over politics and the lopsided contest that has been dominated by Lee. In the 2002 poll, turnout was 70.8 percent, the lowest since 1987.
Unlike previous elections dominated by issues like security policy with rival North Korea or relations with the United States, this year voters were focused on economic matters due to concern over sky-high real estate prices, soaring unemployment and a widening gap between rich and poor.
Nicknamed "The Bulldozer" for his can-do business acumen, Lee's support has been bolstered due to dissatisfaction over the five-year term of liberal President Roh Moo-hyun, who is constitutionally barred from seeking re-election.
Lee, who turns 66 on election day, first gained prominence as head of Hyundai's construction unit that symbolized South Korea's meteoric economic rise in the 1960-70s. As Seoul mayor from 2002-2006, he made his mark by opening up a long-paved-over stream to create a new landmark in the capital that also earned him environmental credibility.
"I want to thank the people who have defended me from numerous negative campaigns," Lee told reporters Wednesday morning, after casting a ballot with his wife Kim Yoon-ok in a polling station near his home in Seoul. "This time, we have to change the government without fail. To do so, all the people should take part in the voting."
Lee has made the economy central to his campaign, pledging to raise annual growth to 7 percent, double the country's per capita income to US$40,000 and lift South Korea to among the world's top seven economies _ known as his "747" pledge.
"He was in the business field for a long time and he has achieved a lot as Seoul mayor. I'm sure that he can revive our economy," said Cheon Won-gil, a 63-year-old seed vendor in the capital among the first to cast ballots for Lee.
Lee also has said he will take a more critical view over aid to North Korea and says he will bolster ties with the U.S., which has 28,000 troops deployed here to deter aggression from the North.
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.
Lee's march to the presidency hit a bump this week when a video was released by his liberal rivals showing him saying in 2000 that he founded a firm implicated in fraud. Although he had admitted the same in printed interviews, the video put the words directly into his mouth.
The case revolves around a Korean-American former business associate of Lee's who faces charges for stock manipulation, embezzlement and forgery after his extradition from the U.S., where he allegedly fled with millions of dollars (euros).
Lee has said the taped comments were taken out of context and denied the allegations, but his opponents have called on him to quit the race. It is not known how much the issue will affect voters as no opinion polls are allowed to be publicized in the final week of the campaign under election laws.
Analysts said the independent counsel investigation would continue to hound Lee even after he wins the election, as he could be the country's first president-elect to undergo a criminal probe. By South Korean law, a president-elect can be prosecuted but receives immunity from most criminal lawsuits after inauguration.
The other main candidates in the vote include a former TV anchorman-turned-politician who was once South Korea's point man on North Korea, Chung Dong-young, and two-time presidential loser Lee Hoi-chang who entered the race as an independent.
"Please, open the path for peace and a peaceful Korea! I trust our people and love them," Chung said after voting in a Seoul polling station.
Noh Young-suk, a 66-year-old housewife, said she voted for Chung "because he's young and active."
"If he becomes president he can manage state affairs very well, he's my type," she said.
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