Seoul
Early voting began Friday ahead of next week’s parliamentary elections in South Korea, with turnout reaching a record high amid high interest in the vote seen as a midterm referendum on the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Voters began casting ballots at 3,565 polling stations nationwide at 6 a.m. in the two-day early voting taking place ahead of Wednesday’s main vote to elect a new 300-member National Assembly. Voting hours are from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m, source reported
As of 1 p.m., more than 3.54 million people out of some 44.28 million eligible voters had cast their votes, recording a turnout of 8 per cent, compared with 5.98 per cent in the 2020 general elections. It marks the highest turnout for parliamentary elections since the early voting system was adopted in 2012.
The turnout, however, is slightly lower than 8.75 per cent in the 2022 presidential election.
The quadrennial race holds significant importance for the ruling People Power Party (PPP) as failure to regain a majority could potentially render President Yoon a lame duck for the remaining three years of his single five-year term.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which had secured a landslide victory in the previous elections, aims to retain its parliamentary majority.
After calling on the nation to exercise their voting rights, Yoon cast an early vote in the southeastern port city of Busan.
