Early voting turnout for South Korean president hits 34.74%
May 31 (UPI) -- With three days until the presidential election in South Korea, the candidates are making their final push to replace impeached President Yoon Sook-yeol with more than a third already casting their votes.
The two days of early voting ended at 6 p.m. Friday. Of the 44.3 million eligible South Korean voters, 34.74% have voted, according to the National Election Commission.
This is the second highest turnout since nationwide early voting was introduced in 2014, according to the NEC. It was 36.93% for the 2022 presidential election.
Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung and People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo encouraged people to go to the polls early.
In the latest poll, Lee led with 42.9% support followed by Kim with 36.8%, according to Yonhap. Lee Jun-seo, of the minor conservative New Reform Party, came in third with 10.3%.
"The morale at the Democratic Camp is much more energetic, especially after the historic impeachment trial," David Lee, a Seoul-based journalist, told Al Jazeera. "PPP supporters, on the other hand, are navigating murkier waters."
South Korean police said this week they had apprehended at least 690 people over related incidents, according to Yonhap.
Lee attended a rally in Pyeongtaek, around 37 miles south of Seoul, on Saturday.
Lee said he has been wearing a bulletproof vest and installed bulletproof glass at campaign rallies after threats on his life.
He called alleged opinion rigging by a far-right group as an "act of rebellion" that must be held accountable.
"How can they be manipulating comments, making fake news in this day and age, and systematically making preparations to ruin the election results," he asked. "Can this be forgiven? We must root it out."
On Friday, Lee visited Chuncheon and Wonju in Gangwon Province before heading to Chungju in North Chungcheong Province for his campaign rallies. This marks his first visit to Gangwon during the campaign period.
Kim launched a 90-hour nonstop overnight campaign tour across the country.
Kim, during a rally in the eastern Gangwon Province, called for the "banishing" Lee from politics.
"Lee has been found guilty of lying," he said. "What would happen [to the country] if he becomes president?"
Kim said he would be a "clean" president if elected.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court sent Lee's case back to the Seoul High Court for a retrial. They decided the lower court's decision to acquit Lee of false statements during the previous presidential race in 2021.
Lee, appearing on cable broadcaster JTBC's YouTube channel, called for a special counsel probe to fully hold accountable those involved in Yoon's martial law bid.
"To bring the insurrection to a complete end, all those responsible or complicit must be identified and held accountable," he said.
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He also endorsed unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that the liberals had benefited from election fraud, prompting his supporters to rally in the streets with 'Stop the Steal' signs. Lee has issued a message of unity and vowed not to seek political vengeance against his rivals if elected. But his critics doubt that, suspecting Lee could use investigations of Yoon's martial law decree as a vehicle to suppress his opponents. Yoon's legal saga is likely to overshadow the early months of Seoul's next government, as the former president continues to stand trial on high-stakes rebellion charges, which carry a possible sentence of death or life in prison.
