![[Graphic News] Early-voting turnout hits second-highest level ever](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimg.heraldcorp.com%2Fnews%2Fcms%2F2025%2F06%2F01%2Fnews-p.v1.20250601.a5bbf5cf421c4996a70de832787f940f_T1.gif&w=3840&q=100)
[Graphic News] Early-voting turnout hits second-highest level ever
More than 15 million voters have cast ballots in early voting for the presidential election, according to the National Election Commission on Friday, with attention now turning to how the near-record turnout might affect Election Day voting on Tuesday.
The final early-voting turnout was 34.74 percent, the second-highest figure since nationwide early voting was introduced in 2014, according to the NEC. This year's turnout is down 2.19 percentage points from the all-time high of 36.93 percent, recorded in the 2022 presidential election.
An estimated 15,423,607 voters cast ballots during early voting, which began at 6 a.m. Thursday and closed at 6 p.m. Friday, the NEC said.
By region, South Jeolla Province recorded the highest turnout at 56.5 percent, followed by North Jeolla Province at 53.01 percent and Gwangju at 52.12 percent. The southeastern city of Daegu had the lowest turnout at 25.63 percent. (Yonhap)

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Korea Herald
4 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Voter turnout exceeds 79%, highest in 28 years
More than 79 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballots by the time polls closed on Tuesday, marking the highest turnout since the 1997 presidential election, according to the National Election Commission. The polls were open between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Election Day — two hours longer than usual, as stipulated for early elections. Including last week's two days of early voting, 35,240,416 out of 44,391,871 eligible voters cast their ballots, amounting to 79.4 percent, the NEC reported. The turnout was 2.3 percentage points higher than during the same period in the 2022 presidential election. By region, Gwangju posted the highest turnout at 83.9 percent, while Jeju Province recorded the lowest at 74.6 percent. Seoul reported 80.1 percent turnout. South Korea marked its highest voter turnout in 1987 at 89.2 percent — the same year direct presidential elections were introduced under the reforms of the 1987 Constitution. The last time turnout exceeded 80 percent was in 1997, when 80.7 percent of voters participated and opposition leader Kim Dae-jung defeated ruling party candidate Lee Hoi-chang. Turnout then steadily declined, falling as low as 63 percent in 2007. It only rebounded to 77.1 percent in 2022, when then-candidate Yoon Suk Yeol defeated Lee Jae-myung, who was this election's front-runner. The June 3 election was held to fill the leadership vacuum triggered by the impeachment and removal of former President Yoon, following his controversial declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024. Of all eligible voters, 34.74 percent cast their ballots in early voting last week on Thursday and Friday — the second-highest early voting turnout recorded in a presidential race, just behind the 36.93 percent logged in the 2022 presidential election. The early turnout figure also includes overseas, absentee and onboard voting. After the polls closed, ballot boxes were transported to counting centers, where vote counting began immediately. The NEC projected that 70 to 80 percent of votes would be counted by midnight, likely providing a clear indication of the winner. In the closely contested 2022 election, Yoon emerged as the clear winner at around 2 a.m. the next day. In the 2017 election, Moon Jae-in's lead was evident as early as 10 p.m. on election night. Detailed turnout information is available on the NEC's official website at


Korea Herald
6 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Woman in 70s declared dead after fainting at Incheon polling station
On Election Day Tuesday, a woman was pronounced dead by medical authorities after collapsing at a polling station in Incheon. According to the Incheon Fire Department, a report was filed to authorities about an elderly woman fainting at a polling booth in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, at around 9:59 a.m. In the initial report made to authorities, the woman was reported to be 'breathing slightly and groaning.' Once medical officials arrived on site, the 70-something-year-old woman was transferred to the hospital in cardiac arrest. However, she was later pronounced dead at the hospital in the middle of treatment. Authorities added that the cause of the woman's death has 'not yet been determined,' and that an investigation is underway. Meanwhile, from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m., up to 46 reports were made to the police related to the presidential elections in Incheon alone, including 13 cases related to voting disturbances, two related to traffic inconvenience and 31 other miscellaneous reports. At 2:27 p.m., the police received a report about a vehicle blocking a ramp for voters with limited mobility at a polling station in Jung-gu, Incheon. At 4:09 p.m., a police report was also filed at Michuhol-gu, Incheon, about a deceased person being listed on the election roster, only to be later discovered as a case of a person with the same name. 'No criminal charges have been pressed regarding today's elections,' said a police official based in Incheon.


Korea Herald
9 hours ago
- Korea Herald
From 'election rigging watcher' to repeat vote attempts, confusion and commotion on election day
54 disturbances reported in Seoul area alone during presidential election As Koreans went to the polls to select the next leader on Tuesday, 54 minor incidents related to the election process were reported to the police in Seoul from the time the voting booths opened at 6 a.m. to noon. In one such incident, two men and one woman came to the voting booth installed at an elementary school in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul at around 8:53 a.m., dressed in red and left a red balloon with the message "President Kim Moon-soo" at the entrance. Red is the color representing the People Power Party and its candidate Kim. Officials of the National Election Commission removed the balloons, citing violation of the Public Officials Election Act that bans public support of certain candidate from 100 meters within the election booth. A 56-year-old woman in another Seocho-gu voting booth reported an election law violation, in which NEC officials were found to have stamped the ballots with the NEC mark before handing them to the voters. Officials said they had marked the ballots in advance in case they were overwhelmed by a massive influx of voters in the booth. In the northern region of Seoul in Gangbuk-gu, a woman in her 60s insisted on checking the voters list to see if her name had been removed, after she had already participated in the early voting process. Many supporters of the People Power Party, to which ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol belonged until he left it last month, have shared the views by the disgraced former leader that several of the past elections have been rigged in favor of the liberal bloc. The claim, despite never being proved despite several investigations under the authority of Yoon himself, has sparked suspicion among some voters that such manipulation would occur during the presidential election. A 60-year-old Seoul resident was seen counting the voters entering the polling station set up in Choongam High School, Yoon's alma mater in Seoul. Standing outside the station since 6 a.m., he said he was not affiliated with any organization but is personally making sure that no unlawful activities occur. In the neighboring city of Jecheon of Gyeonggi Province, a voter said that that one was marked as having already voted despite not voting yet. The records show that the voter had already received a ballot, and the NEC officials — who refused to reveal the detailed information on the matter — are checking to see if the voter's claim is true. Election officials on Jeju Island caught two residents who tried to cast ballots on Tuesday, despite having already participated in the early voting last week. Attempting to vote multiple times is subject to up to five years in prison or a 10 million won ($7,250) fine.