S. Koreans voting for new president

SEOUL, South Korea — South Koreans began voting in a special election Tuesday for a new president, with victory widely predicted for a liberal candidate who has pledged to improve ties with North Korea, re-examine a contentious U.S. missile defense shield and push sweeping economic changes.

Conservatives worry that a victory by Moon Jaein might benefit North Korea and put South Korea at odds with its most important ally, the United States.

But Mr. Moon has been the clear favorite as the country’s powerful conservative forces struggle to regroup after a huge corruption scandal that led to President Park Geun-hye’s removal from office and arrest in March.

“This is the last challenge of my life. I’ve really done my best so far. I’ve made enormous preparations. I’m confident. I’ll strain every nerve to the last minute to be a president for all the people,” Mr. Moon, 64, said on the eve of the election.

The final opinion surveys released last week showed Mr. Moon, the Democratic Party candidate, had about a 20-percentage-point lead over his two main rivals — a centrist and a conservative.

His victory would end a near decade of conservative rule by Ms. Park and her predecessor, Lee Myungbak. When the liberals were last in charge in Seoul, Mr. Moon served as chief of staff for then President Roh Moohyun. They sought closer ties with North Korea by setting up large-scale aid shipments to the North and by working on now-stalled joint economic projects.

Voting stations opened at 6 a.m. and are to close at 8 p.m. South Korean TV stations plan to release the results of their joint exit polls soon after the vote ends and are expected to predict a winner before midnight.

The winning candidate will be officially sworn in after the National Election Commission ends the vote count and confirms the winner on Wednesday.