SEOUL — South Korea has chosen opposition candidate, Yoon Suk-yeol, as the country's next president following a close-run race.

The governing Democratic Party's Lee Jae-myung admitted defeat early Thursday morning, apologizing to supporters for his "shortcomings".

Conservative Yoon called his win a "victory of the great people".

Both candidates have been accused of running negative campaigns and ended up separated by less than 1% of the vote.

Wednesday's election saw a high turnout, with more than three quarters of eligible voters casting their ballots.

Top of voters' concerns were skyrocketing house prices, stagnant economic growth, and stubborn youth unemployment.

The White House has already sent its congratulations to Yoon, saying US President Joe Biden is looking forward to further expanding the two countries ties.

Yoon’s victory over his liberal rival is far from decisive. He has won the presidency by less than one percent - a sign of just how bitterly divided politics in the world's tenth largest economy has become.

Yoon only entered politics last year and rose to prominence for successfully prosecuting the former conservative president Park Geun-hye on bribery and corruption charges.

The political novice has been compared to the former United States President Donald Trump and has been prone to gaffes throughout the campaign. He had to walk back a comment that the authoritarian president Chun Doo-hwan, who was responsible for massacring protestors in 1980, was "good at politics". — BBC