Former Hyundai CEO Lee Myung-bak claims victory in South Korean presidential election

SEOUL, South Korea — Former Hyundai CEO Lee Myung-bak claimed victory Wednesday in South Korea's presidential election, as voters overlooked fraud allegations in hopes he will revive the economy.

Lee's two main rivals both conceded defeat after returns and exit polls showed him winning nearly double the votes of his closest competitor.

"Today, the people gave me absolute support. I'm well aware of the people's wishes," said Lee, of the conservative Grand National Party. "I will serve the people in a very humble way. According to the people's wishes, I will save the nation's economy that faces a crisis."

The National Election Commission said Lee had 47 percent of the vote and liberal Chung Dong-young was a distant second at 27.5 percent, with 58 percent of the vote counted.

An exit poll sponsored by TV stations KBS and MBC showed Lee getting 50.3 percent of the vote. The poll of 70,000 people had a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point.

Lee, a former Seoul mayor who turned 66 on election day, has led the race for months. His victory ends a decade of liberal rule in the South, during which the country embarked on unprecedented reconciliation with rival North Korea that has led to restored trade and travel across the heavily armed frontier dividing the peninsula.

"I humbly accept the people's choice," Chung told reporters late Wednesday. "I hope (president)-elect Lee Myung-bak will do a good job for the country."

Candidate Lee Hoi-chang, who was trailing in third with 15.7 percent of the vote, congratulated Lee Myung-bak on his win.

"I hope he would uphold the people's yearning for a change in government and correct what the outgoing government has done wrong in the past," he told reporters.

Lee has pledged to take a more critical view of Seoul's engagement with North Korea and seek closer U.S. ties. Efforts to end North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions stand at a critical juncture, with the communist country set to disclose all its programs for eventual dismantlement by a year-end deadline.

Just days before the vote, the parliament voted to authorize an independent counsel investigation into Lee in a stock manipulation case where prosecutors had already cleared him of wrongdoing. The counsel is to complete the probe before the Feb. 25 inauguration, and Lee has said he would step aside from the presidency if found at fault.