Voter turnout exceeds 18% as of 11 a.m., higher than 2022 election
More than 18 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballots as of 11 a.m. Tuesday, 2.3 percent higher than the previous election held in 2022, according to the National Election Commission.
Polling stations opened at 6 a.m. and will remain open until 8 p.m. — two hours longer than usual — as this is an early election. The June 3 election was held to fill the leadership vacuum triggered by the impeachment and removal of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, following his controversial declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024.
The 11 a.m. turnout figure does not include early voting, which took place last Thursday and Friday. A total of 15,423,607 people, or 34.74 percent of eligible voters, cast their ballots early — the second-highest early turnout ever recorded for a presidential race, just behind the 36.93 percent logged in the 2017 election.
This year, 44,391,871 people are eligible to vote, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the NEC. Once polls close at 8 p.m., ballot boxes will be transported to counting centers, where vote counting will begin immediately.
Attention has been paid to whether this election could surpass previous turnout records. Between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m., turnout was slightly higher than during the same window in the 2022 presidential election. Among regions, Daegu recorded the highest early turnout with 23.1 percent, while South Jeolla Province saw the lowest with 12.5 percent. Seoul reported 17.1 percent.
The highest turnout ever recorded in a South Korean presidential election was 80.7 percent in 1997 when opposition leader Kim Dae-jung defeated ruling party candidate Lee Hoi-chang.
The NEC projects that 70 to 80 percent of votes will be counted by midnight, likely providing a clear indication of the winner. In the closely contested 2022 election, Yoon Suk Yeol emerged as the frontrunner 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.
Turnout updates are available in real time on the NEC's official website: http://info.nec.go.kr.
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