South Korea woke on Wednesday to a new liberal president, Lee Jae-myung, who vowed to raise the country from the turmoil of a martial law crisis and revive an economy reeling from slowing growth and the threat of global protectionism.

The exit poll by three leading South Korean broadcasters puts Lee, candidate of the leftwing Democratic party, in first place with 51.7 per cent of the vote, well ahead of rival Kim Moon-soo, of the conservative People Power party, on 39.3 per cent in the first-past-the-post election.

South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is projected to be the new president following a snap election on Tuesday, according to an exit poll by Korean broadcasters, in a vote held exactly six months after the country’s previous leader declared martial law and plunged the nation into chaos.