Over 70 percent of South Korean voters living overseas have cast ballots in the presidential election during a weeklong voting period, the National Election Commission said Tuesday.

Of a total of 222,389 registered voters overseas, 158,235 or 71.2 percent have voted at polling stations set up at South Korean diplomatic missions Tuesday. The overseas voting began Wednesday last week and the final polling station closed at noon Korean time in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The turnout was much higher than 44.8 percent tallied by this point in April’s parliamentary elections, reflecting the high interest South Koreans have in selecting the new president that will lead their country over the next five years. April’s final turnout was 45.7 percent.

By continent, voters in Europe had the highest turnout at 77.2 percent, followed by North America at 72.9 percent, Africa at 70.8 percent, and Asia at 69 percent. By country, voters in the U.S. had a 71.6 percent turnout, those in China 68.2 percent, and those in Japan 67.8 percent, the election watchdog said.

Ballot boxes will be sent by diplomatic courier to South Korea by Sunday afternoon before they are transported to 251 regional election commissions across the country. Vote counting will begin as soon as the main voting closes at 6 p.m. on Dec. 19. 

(Yonhap News)