Early voting turnout hits 14.29% by 10 a.m.

Early voting turnout for South Korea’s ninth nationwide local elections reached 14.29 percent as of 10 a.m. Saturday, continuing to outpace participation levels recorded during the previous local elections four years ago.The figure was 1.62 percentage points higher than the 12.67 percent recorded at the same point during the 2022 local elections.The first day of early voting also set a new record for local elections, with turnout reaching 11.6 percent, surpassing the previous record of 10.18 percent set during the 2022 local elections.South Jeolla Province posted the highest turnout nationwide at 26.81 percent, followed by North Jeolla and Gwangju.Daegu recorded the lowest turnout at 11.15 percent, followed by Busan and Incheon.Early voting began Friday and will continue until 6 p.m. Saturday at 3,571 polling stations nationwide ahead of the June 3 local elections.Voters may cast ballots at any early voting station regardless of their registered place of residence by presenting an approved form of identification. A voter casts a ballot at an early voting station in Gwangju on Saturday, the second day of early voting for South Korea's ninth nationwide local elections. (Yonhap)

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