Liberal candidate Moon predicted to win South Korean presidential election

- Reuters picMoon, 64, is expected to beat conservative challenger, former prosecutor Hong Joon-pyo, by 41.4 per cent to 23.3 per cent of the votes, exit polls conducted jointly by three network television stations showed.

His closest rivals, conservative Hong Joon Pyo and centrist Ahn Cheol Soo, conceded defeat late on Tuesday even before the official vote count is out.

Voting stations are set to close at 8 p.m. and South Korean TV stations plan to release the results of their joint exit polls soon after the vote ends and are expected to predict a victor before midnight.

But Duyeon Kim, a visiting fellow at the Korean Peninsula Future Forum in Seoul, said that "it remains to be seen whether (Moon) will be able to deliver" the economic and political reforms many South Koreans seek. KBA officials say the polls have rarely been incorrect in predicting the winners of large-constituency balloting such as presidential and Seoul mayoral elections.

On April 11, while commenting on concerns that North Korea could be preparing for another nuclear or missile test.

Liam McCarthy-Cotter, a specialist in East Asian politics at Nottingham Trent University, said there was a need for South Korea "to re-establish its strength both domestically and in the face of increasingly hostile posturing from North Korea".

"There is a reason we have this alliance, and these things are very hard to change".

Voters were seeking to fill the void left by the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, who was ejected from office in March after a corruption scandal for which she's awaiting trial.

His victory was bolstered by strong support from younger people, according to the exit polls. "I lacked (the capability) to satisfy people's ardent wish for change".

A big challenge will be US President Donald Trump, who has proven himself unconventional in his approach to North Korea, swinging between intense pressure and threats and offers to talk. He also advocates building up a more assertive South Korea. Moon promised to put together a huge stimulus package, to create 810,000 public-sector positions and to reduce long working hours.

He told his party he would push for reform and national unity if he was confirmed as the next president. Democrats have only 119 seats in the 299-seat parliament, and general elections are not due until 2020.

On the economic and business front, the president also faces the hard task of preparing the Korean economy for the next era of growth amid low birthrates and a rapidly aging population.

The election is being closely watched overseas at a time of high tension with North Korea, which is believed to be preparing for a sixth nuclear test and has vowed to test an intercontinental missile.

Moon says the confrontational approach did nothing to prevent North Korea from expanding its arsenal of nuclear weapons and missiles and only reduced Seoul's voice in global efforts to deal with its rival.

Meanwhile, Moon has said that he is open to going to Pyongyang to meet Kim if it will help resolve the nuclear problem and wants to return to the "sunshine policy" of previous liberal presidents. This began in 1997 - well before North Korea had proven any nuclear capability - and involved economic engagement with the North to reduce the gaps between the two Koreas.

He served as a senior secretary to former President Roh Moo-Hyun from 2005 to 2006, then as chief of staff in 2007-2008.

"Things are not right to resume the so-called Sunshine Policy, as the USA and China turned more hostile towards North Korea", said Koh Yu-hwan, Dongguk University professor of North Korean studies, who is serving as a foreign policy adviser to Moon. There is also the possibility that a Moon presidency could lead to improved relations between China, according to Bloomberg.

Moon's election could also complicate the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, which the former government in Seoul and the US military agreed to past year.