Opposition candidate Lee wins SKorea election: exit polls

SEOUL, Dec 19, 2007 (AFP) - Conservative opposition candidate Lee Myung-Bak won South Korea's presidential election by a landslide, according to two TV exit polls broadcast as voting ended Wednesday.

A joint KBS/MBC poll gave Lee Myung-Bak 50.3 percent; Chung Dong-Young of the pro-government liberal United New Democratic Party 26 percent; and rightwing independent Lee Hoi-Chang 13.5 percent.

SBS gave Lee Myung-Bak 51.3 percent, Chung 25 percent and Lee Hoi-Chang 13.8 percent.

Lee Myung-Bak, a former construction magnate and ex-mayor of Seoul, would end a decade of liberal rule if official vote counting confirms the exit poll figures.

He has promised a reinvigorated economy and a tougher stance on North Korea but also faces an independent inquiry ordered by parliament into allegations surrounding a 2001 share-rigging fraud.

Voting ended at 6:00 pm (0900 GMT), with official results expected within four hours. Exit polls cannot by law be broadcast until voting has ended.

The KBS/MBC poll survyed 50,000 voters with a margin of error of plus or minus one percent. SBS did not immediately say how many it asked but said its margin of error was plus or minus two percent.

YTN television gave Lee 49 percent and Chung 25.3 percent, but it had no immediate figure for Lee Hoi-Chang.