Moon Jae-in, of the liberal Democratic Party, won South Korea鈥檚 May 9 presidential election with 41% of the vote, easily defeating his arch-conservative opponent Hong Jun-pyo, who won about 24%.
The elections took place after the impeachment of conservative president Park Geun-hye for her involvement in a huge corruption scandal. Park, from Hong鈥檚 right-wing Saenuri Party (renamed Liberty Korea Party in a bid to rebrand), was forced out by the huge 鈥淐andlelight Revolution鈥. Millions of Koreans mobilised in an ongoing series of candlelight protests to demand her impeachment.
The elections also took place in a context of the threat of war in the Korean Peninsula with US President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration ratcheting up tensions with North Korea.