Yoon Suk-yeol, S.Korea's new president

SEOUL, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Yoon Suk-yeol of the biggest conservative opposition People Power Party was elected South Korea's 20th president, winning a narrow victory over his liberal rival on Thursday.

The president-elect was born on Dec. 18, 1960 in Seoul. He was the first of two children and his parents were former university professors.

Yoon studied law at the prestigious Seoul National University and he started his career as a public prosecutor in 1994. He briefly worked as a lawyer in 2002.

After returning to the prosecution office, Yoon investigated into political heavyweights and business tycoons.

Yoon was demoted in 2013 when he led a special investigation team to probe into the involvement of the National Intelligence Service, the country's spy agency, in the public opinion manipulation scandal.

He became the head of the investigation team of an independent counsel, who looked into the influence-peddling scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon-sil. It led to the impeachment of Park in March 2017.

In May 2017, the newly-elected President Moon Jae-in named Yoon as chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office, appointing him as prosecutor general in July 2019.

Yoon stepped down as prosecutor general in March 2021 and officially declared his candidacy for president in June of the year. He officially joined the People Power Party in July last year.