South Korean who backs talks with the North claims victor, but risks U.S. rift
SEOUL, South Korea Moon Jae-in, a human rights lawyer who favors dialogue with North Korea, declared victory in the South Korean election on Tuesday, after his rivals appeared to concede defeat.
I will be a president for all the people, Mr. Moon said in a nationally televised speech before a group of cheering supporters gathered in central Seoul, the capital. He said he would work with political rivals to create a country where justice rules and common sense prevails.
His victory would return the liberals to power after nearly a decade in the political wilderness and set up a potential rift with the United States over the Norths nuclear weapons program.
Mr. Moon was leading in the vote-counting by a comfortable margin around midnight local time, though official results were not expected until well into Wednesday.
The vote caps a remarkable national drama in which a corruption scandal, mass protests and impeachment forced a South Korean president from office for the first time in almost 60 years, leaving the conservative establishment in disarray and its former leader in jail.
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