South Korea's conservative candidate Kim Moon-soo is seeking to build momentum in his campaign by pledging economic policies focused on deregulation, a tough line on nuclear-armed North Korea and tax breaks for the middle class.

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate for South Korea's Democratic Party, poses for photographs as he casts his early vote for the upcoming presidential election with his supporters at a polling station in Seoul,

South Koreans began turning out in record numbers for early voting on Thursday in the country's snap presidential polls set to take place next week, election commission data showed, as both of the leading candidates cast their ballots.