SEOUL, South Korea: Following a closely fought election, conservative South Korean opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol has been elected president, marking a turnaround for the main conservative bloc, now known as the People Power Party.

Yoon, 60, edged out the ruling centre-left Democratic Party’s Lee Jae-myung to replace Moon, whose single five-year term ends in May.

Yoon has vowed to weed out graft, foster justice and create a more level economic playing field, while seeking a “reset” with China and a tougher stance towards North Korea, which has launched a number of missiles in recent months.

Yoon faces the challenge of uniting a country of 52 million riven by gender and generational divisions, growing inequality and surging home prices.

“Real estate prices, housing policy, jobs, and tax policies will top his domestic agenda,” said Duyeon Kim, a Seoul-based expert with the Center for a New American Security, as quoted by Reuters.

Yoon’s lack of elected political experience was seen as both a liability and an asset.

“I would pay attention to people’s livelihoods, provide warm welfare services to the needy, and make utmost efforts so that our country serves as a proud, responsible member of the international community and the free world,” Yoon said during a victory celebration with supporters.

The new president could face an almost immediate crisis with Pyongyang, which appears to be preparing to launch a spy satellite and has suggested it could resume the testing of long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons for the first time since 2017.

The White House congratulated Yoon, saying President Joe Biden looked forward to working closely with him to bolster the alliance.

“We can expect the alliance to run more smoothly and be in sync for the most part on North Korea, China, and regional and global issues,” said Kim from the Center for a New American Security.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also welcomed Yoon’s win, and said he hoped to work closely with him to rebuild healthier ties with Japan’s neighbor.

More than 77 percent of South Korea’s 44 million eligible voters cast ballots to pick their next leader, despite a record surge in new COVID-19 cases this week.

Yoon said he would work with opposition parties to heal polarized politics and foster unity.

“Our competition is over for now,” he said in an acceptance speech, thanking and consoling Lee and other rivals. “We have to join hands and unite into one for the people and the country.”