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Park Geun-hye of South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party won the tightly contested presidential election held Wednesday, becoming the first woman to lead the country and extending the conservative rule for another five years。

With 94.5 percent of the votes counted, Park, the 60-year-old daughter of South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee, won 51.7 percent of the vote, becoming the first one to garner more than half of all votes since democratic elections began in 1987.

Her archrival, Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic United Party, was a close second with 47.9 percent。

Voter turnout was estimated at 75.8 percent, the highest in 15 years, according to the National Election Commission。

"I will become a president who puts people's livelihoods before anything else," Park told cheering crowds in central Seoul as she accepted her victory. "I will keep my promises."

Park, who ran on job creation, welfare expansion and engagement with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)， had maintained a slight lead in almost all pre-election opinion surveys, though many were within the margin of error。

As a political veteran with the moniker "queen of elections," Park acted as the de facto first lady to her father after her mother was assassinated and is credited with reviving the Saenuri Party when it was mired in a series of devastating corruption scandals。

She remains widely popular among older voters nostalgic for rapid economic growth under the senior Park's 18-year authoritarian rule, while critics point to ruthless suppression of dissidents during his reign。

Despite dogged opposition criticism of Park for her reluctance to apologize for abuses under her father's watch, the five-term lawmaker proved yet again to be unassailable in key southern cities including her hometown of Deagu。

Moon, a 59-year-old former human rights lawyer who was once jailed for protesting the senior Park's repressive rule, had billed the election as a contest between vested interests and aspirations for new politics。

"I failed to keep the promise of an era of new politics," Moon said as he conceded defeat in a news conference at the campaign headquarters in Seoul. "I congratulate Park on her victory."

Moon, former chief of staff to late ex-President Roh Moo-hyun, was the sole candidate running on the liberal ticket after independent Ahn Cheol-soo and leftist candidate Lee Jung-hee bowed out of the race to throw their support behind him。

He sought to make the election a judgment call on the unpopular incumbent Lee Myung-bak, but Park successfully distanced herself from the man who had defeated her in the party primary five years ago。

Lee's single five-year term ends early February, 2013.

韩国新国家党总统候选人朴槿惠，在19日举行的韩国第18届总统选举中以微弱优势战胜主要竞选对手文在寅，成为韩国历史上首位女总统。

投票率超过75%

当地时间19日6时(北京时间5时)，韩国选民开始在全国各地13542个投票站投票。

韩国总统选举采取全民直接选举制度，即总统由全国范围内的平等、直接和无记名投票选举产生。19日当天韩国全国放假一天。

本届大选共有6名候选人角逐总统宝座，分别为新国家党朴槿惠，民主统合党文在寅，无党派人士朴钟善、金昭延、姜智远和金顺子。此前，统合进步党李正姬16日宣布退出总统竞选。

本届大选还首次启用了海外公民投票，旨在保障海外韩国公民行使选举中的投票权。海外公民投票已于本月5日至10日在韩国设于各国大使馆的投票站举行。

当地时间19日18时(北京时间17时)，投票结束。中央选举管理委员会统计数据显示，全国4050万选民中大约3070万人参与投票，投票率超过75%，远远超过2007年总统选举63%的投票率。

投票当天韩国迎来了强势寒流，全国大部分城市全天气温都在零摄氏度以下，首尔早上6时的气温达到了零下10摄氏度，寒冷天气似乎并没有影响选民的投票积极性。

文在寅承认败选

韩国中央选举委员会公布的数据显示，截止当地时间晚11时40分，已完成约85%选票的计票工作，朴槿惠以51.6%的得票率领先文在寅的48%，胜券在握。

据韩国联合通讯社报道，朴槿惠访问了位于首尔汝矣岛的新国家党党部，然后前往光化门发表胜选演讲。

朴槿惠说，真心感谢所有韩国国民，这次选举是韩国全体国民克服经济困境取得的胜利。她将努力兑现向国民作出的承诺，成为一位真正的“民生总统”。朴槿惠表示将为国民开创一个“国民幸福时代”。

文在寅当晚在民主统合党党部承认败选。他说，虽然这次没有达成“揭开新时代”的目标，但大家在选举过程中感受到了希望。文在寅还向朴槿惠表达祝贺，并真诚希望她能够好好带领这个国家前行。

韩国上届大选是2007年12月19日举行的。韩国宪法规定，总统任期为5年，不得连任。现任韩国总统李明博明年2月任期届满。