Polls open in South Korean presidential elections

Polls opened for South Korea's presidential elections Wednesday.Pre-election surveys showed liberal Lee Jae-myung, a former governor of South Korea's most populous Gyeonggi province, and his main conservative challenger, ex-prosecutor general Yoon Suk Yeol, running neck-and-neck, way ahead of 10 other contenders.The wining candidate will take office in May and serve a single five-year term as leader of the world's 10th largest economy.The election comes as South Korea has been grappling with an omicron-driven COVID-19 surge. Virus patients were to vote after regular voting ends Wednesday evening.