Lee received 49.42% of the vote, while his rival from the ruling conservative People Power Party (PPP), Kim Moon-soo, won 41.15% of the vote, Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party secured 8.34%, Democratic Labor Party candidate Kwon Young-guk received 0.98% of the vote, and independent candidate Song Jin-ho secured 0.1% of the vote.
Lee competed against Yoon Suk-yeol for the presidency in 2022.
He vowed to repair ties with China and North Korea, as well as to stop being "submissive" toward Japan. Lee also warned against South Korea being "dragged" into the proxy war in Ukraine.