Nearly 64 percent of Koreans said they will actively vote in Wednesday’s general election, a poll showed Monday.

According to Real Meter, a poll conducted last week showed that the highest turnout for “active voters” was among those in their 30s at 72.3 percent.

This was followed by those in their 40s and 20s at 70.3 and 65.1 percent, respectively. The figure was 59 and 54.7 percent respectively for those in their 50s and people aged 60 or above.

The overall ratio of people who said they were determined to vote rose by 5.9 percentage points from 63.9 percent a week before, Realmeter said.

By political disposition of the respondents, 73.2 percent of those that identified themselves as progressives said they would definitely vote. The respective ratios were 67.6 percent among moderates and 61.7 percent among conservatives.

The pollster, however, indicated that the higher ratio among liberals does not necessarily lead to better chances for progressive candidates.

“While comparatively lower, those in the (older) age groups with conservative tendencies have also shown an increase in the level of determination to vote. … This generation is also perceived as a group with high voter turnout regardless of their initial indication to vote or not,” Realmeter said in the report.

With two days remaining to polling day, both the ruling and main opposition parties have continued to project modest numbers for their potential parliamentary seats in an attempt to rally support.

The recent strategies of both the ruling Saenuri and the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea have been to try to win sympathy from their supporters, many of whom have expressed disappointment at the parties’ nomination fiascos.

Both Minjoo and Saenuri have been insisting that their rivals will do better than anticipated.

Rep. Kweon Seog-dong, Saenuri’s election strategy director, said in a radio interview that the party is expected to win 142 to 145 parliamentary seats in the election. He added that Minjoo will win at least 120 seats.

It marked a stark contrast to what Jeong Jang-sun, chief strategist for the Minjoo Party in the election, had said the day before. Jang said that his party would win less than 100 seats.

“The Minjoo is saying false predictions to win more votes by rallying its supporters,” Kweon said.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)