South Korean liberal presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung projected to win election: exit poll

South Korea's liberal candidate is projected to win the presidential election, according to a joint exit poll on Tuesday.

The three major South Korean TV stations conducted an exit poll showing Lee Jae-myung was projected to win with 51.7% of the total votes cast during Tuesday’s election, ahead of the 39.3% of votes obtained by conservative candidate Kim Moon Soo, The Associated Press reported.

The snap election was triggered after conservative South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office in April for imposing martial law in December. Yoon is facing trial on rebellion charges.

The presidential election winner will take office on Wednesday for a five-year term, rather than have the usual two-month transition period.