[Breaking News] Lee Jun-seok: "All responsibility is mine… Lee Jae-myung, please unite the people"

Lee Jun-seok, Reform Party candidate, delivers concession message

“I hope chaos in the Republic of Korea ends and the country takes a leap forward”

“Lee Jae-myung, please make an accurate judgment for national unity and the economy”

“The Reform Party will advance in next year’s local elections”

Lee Jun-seok, the Reform Party candidate who ran in the June 3 presidential election, declared his concession after the release of exit poll results from the three major broadcasters on the 3rd.

At the Reform Party's vote-counting situation room set up in the National Assembly that day, Candidate Lee said, "This presidential election was truly fierce. Above all, I believe that, after the six months of impeachment martial law, many citizens must have suffered," and added, "Through this election, I’d like to say that I hope the chaos will be over and that the Republic of Korea will be able to take another leap forward."

He continued, "I am grateful to all the Reform Party members and supporters who dedicated their passion and spirit during this election process, as well as to all the citizens who supported us. The responsibility for the election result is mine. There must have been both things we did well and mistakes in the process. We will analyze them thoroughly, and I hope that in the local elections exactly one year from now, the Reform Party will be able to make a significant leap forward."

He also remarked, "Above all, through this election, the Reform Party has established itself as a party that has successfully completed both the general and presidential elections. Going forward, we’ll strive to enhance the party’s capabilities to get closer to the people."

To Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea, Lee Jun-seok addressed, "If the exit poll results hold, Lee Jae-myung will soon be inaugurated as president. I hope he will unite the people, and most importantly, as the economy is in such a difficult condition, I hope he will make meticulous and precise judgments regarding the economic situation. The Reform Party will continue to fulfill our role as an opposition party."

For the residents of Hwaseong, his constituency, he stated, "I am deeply grateful to the Dongtan residents who trusted and supported Lee Jun-seok as their parliamentary representative during the six-month-long period of chaos. Starting tomorrow, I will immediately return as the National Assembly member for Dongtan and will cope carefully with civil complaints and various local matters."

Speaking with reporters in front of his house in Dongtan before arriving at the situation room, he said, "Many young people sent a lot of hope and expectations, and I am sorry I was not able to fully embrace them all. I am genuinely thankful to all the people who gave their support."

Regarding not agreeing to unify candidacies, he said, "I never considered unification from the beginning. Judging by the results, I think perhaps the People Power Party should have engaged in innovation rather than unification. That is the task given to the broader conservative camp. I also hope, taking this presidential election as a turning point, that the conservative camp’s methodology or approach toward elections itself will change."

According to exit polls released at 8 p.m. on the 3rd by the terrestrial broadcasters KBS, MBC, and SBS, Lee Jae-myung received 51.7%, Kim Moon-soo received 39.3%, and Lee Jun-seok was at 7.7%.

By region, exit poll results were as follows: Seoul (Lee Jae-myung 49.3%, Kim Moon-soo 40.1%, Lee Jun-seok 9.2%), Gyeonggi (Lee Jae-myung 55.8%, Kim Moon-soo 34.6%, Lee Jun-seok 8.5%), Incheon (Lee Jae-myung 53.6%, Kim Moon-soo 37.4%, Lee Jun-seok 7.5%), Busan (Lee Jae-myung 42.7%, Kim Moon-soo 49.0%, Lee Jun-seok 6.9%), Ulsan (Lee Jae-myung 46.5%, Kim Moon-soo 44.3%, Lee Jun-seok 6.9%), Gyeongnam (Lee Jae-myung 43.4%, Kim Moon-soo 48.8%, Lee Jun-seok 6.3%), Daegu (Lee Jae-myung 24.1%, Kim Moon-soo 67.5%, Lee Jun-seok 7.3%), Gyeongbuk (Lee Jae-myung 28.2%, Kim Moon-soo 64.0%, Lee Jun-seok 6.7%), Gwangju (Lee Jae-myung 81.7%, Kim Moon-soo 10.5%, Lee Jun-seok 5.9%), Jeonnam (Lee Jae-myung 80.8%, Kim Moon-soo 10.9%, Lee Jun-seok 6.4%), Jeonbuk (Lee Jae-myung 79.6%, Kim Moon-soo 11.8%, Lee Jun-seok 6.7%), Daejeon (Lee Jae-myung 51.8%, Kim Moon-soo 38.3%, Lee Jun-seok 8.8%), Chungnam/Sejong (Lee Jae-myung 51.3%, Kim Moon-soo 39.7%, Lee Jun-seok 8.2%), Chungbuk (Lee Jae-myung 51.1%, Kim Moon-soo 40.2%, Lee Jun-seok 7.9%), Gangwon (Lee Jae-myung 48.8%, Kim Moon-soo 42.2%, Lee Jun-seok 6.7%), Jeju (Lee Jae-myung 57.9%, Kim Moon-soo 31.2%, Lee Jun-seok 9.3%).

This exit poll was conducted by Korea Research, Ipsos, and Korea Research International, targeting 80,146 voters at 325 polling stations nationwide from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the day in question. The margin of error is ±0.8% at a 95% confidence level.

Hong Min-seong, Hankyung.com reporter mshong@hankyung.com