On March 10, Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee Jae-myung said, “I take full responsibility. Congratulations to Yoon Seok-youl.”

At around 3:47 a.m. this morning Lee held a press conference in front of the Democratic Party office in Yeouido, Seoul and said, “I did my best, but failed to rise to the people’s expectations,” and said, “It is all because of my lack. It is not your defeat and not the defeat of the Democratic Party. The responsibility lies solely with me.”

Lee continued and said, “Congratulations to Yoon Seok-youl. I sincerely ask that you go beyond division and conflicts and open an era of integration and harmony.”

Lee also said, “We still believe in the people of this country. The people were great,” and added, “They displayed a high level of democratic consciousness with a high voter turnout despite the critical situation due to covid.” He further said, “As long as you are here, the Republic of Korea will continue to advance forward,” and said, “I wish that we can overcome this covid crisis as soon as possible and return to our daily lives.”

This day when People Power Party candidate Yoon Seok-youl’s victory seemed imminent, Lee left his home in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si in Gyeonggi-do and arrived at the Democratic Party office at around 3:30 a.m. He shook hands with his supporters, and the supporters applauded and shouted, “Lee Jae-myung, Lee Jae-myung!”

When officials had counted 97.94% of the ballots, Lee had received 47.80% of the votes and trailed Yoon, who received 48.58%.