SEOUL — As of 11 a.m. on Wednesday, approximately 14.5 percent of eligible South Korean voters had participated in the parliamentary elections, as reported by the National Election Commission (NEC). This early turnout reflects the engagement of about 6.42 million voters out of a total electorate of 44.28 million, just five hours after polling stations opened across the nation. These elections are being closely watched as a critical referendum on President Yoon Suk Yeol's administration.
According to Yonhap News Agency, this year's turnout at 11 a.m. slightly trails the participation rate at the same time during the 2020 parliamentary elections, which stood at 15.3 percent. It's important to note, however, that these figures do not account for the 31.28 percent of voters who took part in the early voting session last week, nor do they include votes cast by South Korean citizens living abroad or those on ships. The NEC announced that these additional votes would be factored into the official turnout figures starting from 1 p.m.
Voting in the parliamentary elections is scheduled to conclude at 6 p.m. As of the mid-morning update, South Chungcheong Province and South Gyeongsang Province reported the highest regional voter turnout rates at 16.2 percent. They were closely followed by eastern Gangwon Province and the southeastern city of Daegu. Conversely, the southwestern city of Gwangju recorded the lowest voter turnout, with just 12.1 percent of eligible voters casting their ballots by 11 a.m.