South Koreans vote in closely fought presidential race

South Koreans are heading to the polls today, December 19 to vote for a new president in what has become a very closely fought contest, Sky News reported.

Voters will choose between the centre-right candidate for the ruling Saenuri Party, Park Geun-Hye, and her centre-left Democratic United Party rival Moon Jae-In.

If Ms Park, 60, wins she will become the first female president of a nation which is still heavily dominated by men. A victory for her will, analysts believe, shatter a national 'glass ceiling' and be seen as a massive step forward for women's rights.

She is the daughter of General Park Chung-Hee, the former South Korean dictator whose autocratic rule over the country lasted for 18 years before he was assassinated by his own spy chief in 1979.

Despite his dictatorship, he is widely credited for pulling South Korea out of poverty and turning it into the economic and technological success that it is today.

Mr Moon is a former human rights lawyer who was once jailed for his opposition to Park's father's rule. He is the son of North Korean refugees who fled to the south during the Korean War.

Whoever wins the election will be faced with a belligerent North Korea, a slowing economy and rising welfare costs.