Conservative Ex-Top Prosecutor Elected South Korean President

Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential election candidate of South Korea's main opposition People Power Party (PPP), speaks during his election campaign in Seoul, South Korea, on March 1, 2022. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

SEOUL—A conservative former top prosecutor was elected South Korea’s new president in one of the closest fought races in recent history, which will shape Asia’s fourth-largest economy for the next five years.

Yoon Suk-yeol, 60, from the main opposition People Power Party, edged out the ruling Democratic Party’s Lee Jae-myung with 48.6 percent of the vote to 47.8 percent, with around 99.3 percent of the ballots counted as of 5 a.m. on Thursday.