South Korea: Voter turnout surpasses 10 mn on second day of early voting

Turnout for the parliamentary elections in South Korea topped 10 million during the second and final day of early voting on Saturday.

According to the National Election Commission (NEC), 10,365,722 out of 44,280,011 eligible voters had cast their ballots as of 1 p.m. Saturday, for a turnout rate of 23.41 per cent, Yonhap news agency reported.

At the same point for the previous parliamentary elections in 2020, the turnout was 19.08 per cent.

Voters will have until 6 p.m. Saturday to cast their ballots at 3,565 polling stations. Those missing the opportunity this weekend will have to vote on Election Day on Wednesday.

On Friday, about 6.9 million voters, or 15.61 per cent, went to the polls, a record for the first day of early voting for parliamentary elections.

South Korea introduced the early-voting system in 2014.

On the first day of early voting, turnout exceeded 10 per cent in all 17 major cities and provinces nationwide, led by South Jeolla Province with 23.6 per cent. The turnout in Seoul was 15.83 per cent.

South Jeolla continued to lead the way Saturday with 32.96 per cent. The southeastern city of Daegu brought up the rear at 18.79 per cent.

The quadrennial race is considered crucial for the ruling People Power Party as failure to regain a majority could potentially render President Yoon Suk Yeol a lame duck for the remaining three years of his single five-year term.

The main opposition Democratic Party, which enjoyed a landslide victory in the previous elections, aims to retain its parliamentary majority.

According to a survey conducted jointly by Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News TV earlier this week, 80 per cent of respondents expressed a definite intention to cast their votes.

Among those intending to vote, 39 per cent planned to visit polling stations during the early-voting period, while 58 per cent intended to vote on Election Day.