South Koreans vote on Wednesday in local elections expected to boost President Lee Jae Myung's ruling Democratic Party, in the first nationwide ballot since his snap presidential election victory last year.

South Korea's early voting turnout for local elections reached a record high, ruling and opposition parties to offer different interpretations.

Wednesday's local elections have become an assessment of President Lee Jae Myung's administration, as rival parties recast the vote as a choice between strength