SEOUL - Early turnout in South Korea's parliamentary elections was reported at 6.9 percent as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, marking a modest start to a day of voting that is widely regarded as a referendum on President Yoon Suk Yeol's administration. This preliminary figure represents approximately 3.07 million of the 44.28 million eligible voters who have participated in the elections within the first three hours after the polling stations opened.
According to Yonhap News Agency, The early turnout rate is notably lower than the 8 percent reported at the same time during the previous parliamentary elections in 2020, setting a new low since the NEC began reporting hourly voter turnout data in 1996. The previous record for low early voter turnout was 7.1 percent during the 20th elections in 2016.
It's important to note that these figures do not yet account for the 31.28 percent of voters who engaged in early voting last week, nor do they include ballots cast by South Koreans living abroad or those aboard ships. The NEC announced that these additional votes would be incorporated into the overall turnout figures starting from 1 p.m.
The polling is scheduled to conclude at 6 p.m. Among the regions, South Chungcheong Province had the highest early turnout at 8 percent, with South Gyeongsang Province, the central city of Daejeon, the southern resort island of Jeju, and North Gyeongsang Province trailing closely. Conversely, the southwestern city of Gwangju recorded the lowest early voter turnout at 5.6 percent.