Fourteen years after entering politics by being elected to the 13th National Assembly in 1988, Roh entered the MDP's 'primary' this year, igniting something that would be called "nopung", or "The Roh Storm," something that eventually led to his winning the party's candidacy. He then unified his campaign with that of Chung Mong-joon of National Alliance 21.

Shortly after 10:30pm Thursday, when it became clear that victory was in his hands, Roh went to MDP party headquarters and made a brief statement before the press. "I will not be a president only to those who supported me. I will be a president and errand boy of all the people, including those who opposed me," he said.

"I will have dialogue whenever possible and seek help in times of difficulty as [I] move to start a new era of dialogue and compromise," he continued, adding. "I hope to be able to work with all for the people, and with an open heart."

Roh is scheduled to hold an official press conference 9:00am Friday at party headquarters, during which he is expected to discuss the formation of a presidential transition committee and outline his plans and vision for the immediate future.

Lee admitted his defeat in the election and apologized to the people for his second loss since 1997, even before the official result was announced, and congratulated Roh on his success. He said he will announce his future plans, Friday.

Vote counting started 6:30pm Thursday, half an hour after polls closed. For a while, the GNP's Lee Hoi-chang led the count, but at 8:40pm, with 35 percent of the vote counted, the situation turned. The gap held by Roh would only grow, and he won all provinces and independent cities outside the provinces of Gangwon, North Gyeongsang, and South Gyeongsang. Just as in the 15th Presidential Election, the vote was largely torn between the eastern and western sides of the peninsula.

Minor candidates also participated in Thursday's election. Kwon Young-ghil of the Democratic Labor Party won 3.9 percent. Lee Han-dong of the Hanaro National Union won 0.3 percent, Socialist Party candidate Kim Yeong-kyu won 0.1 percent, and Kim Kil-su of the Defense of the Nation Party won 0.2 pertcent.

Thursday's voter turnout of 70.8 percent was the lowest in presidential election history, (Choi Byung-mook, bmchoi@chosun.com )