Korea on Tuesday welcomed the election of Mohammed Morsi as Egypt's first popularly elected head of state, saying it will continue to support the Middle Eastern nation's transition to democracy.

In a statement issued by foreign ministry spokesman Cho Byung-jae, the Korean government also congratulated Morsi on his election win, which Egypt's election commission officially recognized on Sunday.

"Our government will continue to support Egypt's democratization process, and plans to strengthen our two countries' friendly cooperative ties in ways that include sharing our development experience," the statement said.

The 60-year-old Islamist took 51.7 percent of the vote in the May-June presidential election against 48.3 percent won by Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister to serve under ousted leader Hosni Mubarak.

He is expected to be sworn in as president on July 1. (Yonhap)