Lee Jae-myung of South Korea's majority liberal Democratic Party took a big lead in exit polls of the snap presidential election on Tuesday. Lee won 51.7 percent of the vote in an exit poll, jointly conducted by three terrestrial broadcasters, surpassing Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party with 39.3 percent. Lee Jun-seok of the minor conservative New Reform Party took 7.7 percent of support. Separate estimates by local broadcasters JTBC, Channel A and MBN showed Lee Jae-myung holding a lead with 50.6 percent of the vote, over Kim by about 10 percentage points. Public opinion forecasts that preliminary results will be released around the early hours of Wednesday, while the country's National Election Commission (NEC) expects to announce the final count by approximately 06:00 local time on the day. As this election was held in the absence of a sitting president, the NEC will immediately convene a plenary meeting upon the completion of vote counting to formally approve the results. The president-elect is expected to assume official duties as early as 07:00 local time on Wednesday. According to local media reports, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety is making preparations to hold a simplified inauguration ceremony in the National Assembly on Wednesday, during which the president-elect will take the oath of office. SHOTLIST: FILE: Seoul, South Korea - Jan 14, 2025 1. National flag of South Korea; Seoul, South Korea - June 3, 2025 2. Various of voters registering information, casting ballots, polling booth; FILE: Seoul, South Korea - Date Unknown 3. Various of national flags of South Korea, building, flag of South Korean government. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]