SEOUL - Approximately 53.4 percent of South Korean voters have participated in the parliamentary elections as of 1 p.m. Wednesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, The commission reported that about 23.6 million of the 44.28 million eligible voters have already cast their ballots in what is considered a critical electoral test for President Yoon Suk Yeol's administration.
This year's turnout reflects a 3.7 percentage point increase compared to the same time during the 2020 parliamentary elections. The current figures include votes from a record-breaking early voting period last week, which saw a 31.28 percent turnout, as well as ballots cast by South Koreans living overseas and those at sea.
With the polls closing at 6 p.m., NEC officials expressed cautious optimism that the final voter turnout might exceed the 66.2 percent recorded four years ago, buoyed by the unprecedented early voting figures. "The turnout on the main day of voting is lower than that of the 2020 elections. But as the early voting turnout was an all-time high this time, we cautiously expect that the final turnout may be higher than four years ago," stated an NEC representative.
As of the early afternoon, South Jeolla Province reported the highest voter turnout at 59.6 percent, followed closely by the central city of Sejong at 57.3 percent, and North Jeolla Province at 57.1 percent. Conversely, the southeastern city of Daegu recorded the lowest turnout at 49.9 percent, with Seoul's turnout standing at 54.1 percent.