South Korea's new president promises economic recovery

South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae-myung began his term in office vowing to lift the country out of the turmoil of the military law crisis and revive an economy struggling with slowing growth and the threat of global protectionism.

With 100 percent of the vote counted, Lee won 49.42 percent of the nearly 35 million votes, while conservative rival Kim Mun-soo got 41.15 percent in polls that produced the highest turnout for a presidential election since 1997, according to the National Election Commission.

CMG