Exit polls in South Korea forecast win for liberal Moon

Anger over allegations of collusion between big businesses and the government helped trigger massive months-long protests that led to the ouster of President Park Geun-hye in March and the arrest of the de facto leader at Samsung, South Korea's largest business group.

Park, South Korea's first female president, is now jailed at a detention facility near Seoul and awaits a criminal trial set to start later this month.

Ahead of the vote, Pyongyang made its choice for South Korean president clear in a series of state media editorials calling for a boycott of conservative parties.

The voting was extended by two hours compared with the 2012 presidential election to allow more people to join the momentous election for the country.

South Korea's election body says almost 64 percent of the country's 42.4 million eligible voters cast their ballots as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, representing a faster pace than the previous presidential election in 2012.

Moon says the confrontational approach did nothing to prevent North Korea from expanding its arsenal of nuclear weapons and missiles and only reduced Seoul's voice in global efforts to deal with its rival.

Moon is an outspoken advocate of dialogue with North Korea, and open to returning the Blue House to what used to be known as the "Sunshine Policies", of greater engagement with the North.

"We will continue to meet all our alliance commitments, especially with respect to defending against the threat from North Korea", State Department spokeswoman Katina Adams told the Yonhap News Agency.

Hong Joon-pyo, a conservative, will finish second with 23.3% and Ahn Cheol-soo, a centrist, will finish third with 21.8%, the polls said.

Following, Moon Jae In declared victory and stepped up to the podium and gave a message to the masses.

"What are a few bruises?" he said.

Liberal candidate Moon Jae-in has expressed confidence of winning office as South Koreans vote for a new president.

The National Election Commission's measurements on Tuesday included the 11 million who participated in last week's early voting, which was used for the first time in a presidential election.

The Washington Post reported that Moon wants to develop a better relationship with North Korea, which might open "a new and potentially hard chapter in relations with Washington".

The winning candidate in Tuesday's election will be officially sworn in as South Korea's new president after the election commission finishes the vote count and declares the victor Wednesday morning. He has said he would skip a lavish inauguration ceremony and start work straight away.

"Moon is looking straight up at a cliff that he's got to climb", Delury said.

Moon pledged to "become the president of all the people", speaking before crowds of supporters in central Seoul.

The election is being watched closely by allies and neighbours at a time of high tension over North Korea's accelerating development of weapons. It conducted a fifth test in September and is believed ready for another.

Moon has also shown a willingness to challenge the United States, a key ally of South Korea, saying that Seoul should reconsider its deployment of an advanced US missile defense system to better cope with North Korean threats.

"It would be advisable that the next South Korean leader respond positively to China's proposal to resume dialogues - Pyongyang suspends its nuclear programme in exchange for the U.S".

South Korea's Moon Jae-in will likely the next president of South Korea, according to The Washington Post.

"The decision on whether to deploy THAAD should be deferred to the next government".

South Koreans were eager to put an end to the turmoil and to the political vacuum. The U.S. president has said that he will make South Korea pay $1 billion to host a controversial American missile defense system - contrary to the countries' agreement that South Korea provides the land and the United States the battery.