The two main candidates in presidential elections in South Korea are running virtually neck-and-neck, in what is turning out to be one of the closest contests in the country's history.

Partial results put Lee Hoi Chang from the ruling party, and the opposition leader Kim Dae Jung just a percentage point apart.

Whoever wins will have to steer South Korea through an unprecedented economic crisis, and grapple with recession and high unemployment.

Turn-out was reported to be slightly lower than usual

Turn-out in the vote was reported to be slightly lower than usual.

For many voters, Lee Hoi Chang represents continuity, while the opposition leader, Kim Dae Jung, who is running for the fourth time, stands for change.

Large numbers of voters were reported to be undecided even in the last few days of the campaign.

Correspondent Matt Frei on the economic background to the poll (4'32")

The poll could hardly have come at a worse time for those involved. Whilst many Koreans view the IMF's $57bn bailout as a national humiliation, none of the candidates can offer any realistic vote-winning remedy to Korea's economic problems.

Kate Liang of the BBC's East Asia Today programme reports on the national mood of disillusion

Whichever way voters decide, the winning candidate will have to lead his country through its most painful period of recession and restore the confidence of both domestic and foreign investors in South Korea's economic management.

Correspondent Charles Scanlon on the campaign trail

Under Korean law opinion polls have been illegal since campaigning officially began on November 26. Then the two leading candidates - Mr Lee and Mr Kim - were neck and neck.

For voters and economists alike it is a question of trust. Kim Dae Jung, of the National Congress for New Politics, promises to break the monopoly of power held by the ruling party, but has little experience of macroeconomic management. It is his fourth attempt to win the presidency.

Lee Hoi Chang, of the Grand National Party, on the other hand has a reputation as an incorruptible technocrat, though his connections with the ruling establishment - who many Koreans blame for the crisis - may work against him. The Grand National Party is made up of former members of the New Korea Party, which has never lost an election. It was renamed earlier this year to distance Mr Lee from recent scandals.

The third main candidate is a defector from the ruling camp, Rhee In Je, who is standing as an Independent. Rhee at 48 is the youngest candidate and a former provincial governor who left the NKP in July. He is said to have the backing of the outgoing President Kim Young Sam but is anxious not to appear too close because of recent corruption scandals.
 

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