Voters wait in front of a polling station in Jamsil in Seoul's Songpa District, past 9 p.m. Wednesday, as voting was extended to 10 p.m. from 6 p.m. due to a shortage of ballots. Yonhap
The turnout for Wednesday's local elections was tallied at 61 percent as of 9 p.m., the National Election Commission said.
According to the election watchdog, 27 million out of 44.6 million eligible voters had cast their ballots as of 9 p.m. Wednesday. The total turnout through 6 p.m. had not been finalized as of 9 p.m. due to a ballot shortage at polling stations in southern Seoul amid surging turnout.
Early voting on Friday and Saturday drew more than 10 million voters for a 23.5 percent turnout — a record high for a local election, surpassing the 20.6 percent mark set in 2022.
Wednesday's turnout was 10.1 percentage points higher than the 2022 local elections, which recorded 50.9 percent.
