Nearly 8 in 10 eligible South Koreans voted to elect a new president on Tuesday, following the ouster of Park Geun-hye in a corruption scandal that has gripped the country for half a year.

According to the National Election Commission, final turnout reached 77.2 percent, or 32.8 million out of 42.5 million eligible voters. It is a preliminary tally. A final figure is expected on Wednesday. 

Although the turnout did not reach 80 percent as widely anticipated, it was still 1.4 percent higher than the 2012 presidential election.

“An increase in advance and overseas turnout seemed to have translated into a higher voter participation rate overall,” an official from the National Election Commission told The Korea Herald. “Also, this year, the polls opened two hours longer than the 2012 presidential election.”

Expectations had been high that this year’s voter turnout would break the 80 percent mark for the first time in two decades as last week’s two-day advance voting had already drawn over 10 million people to the polls -- or over 26 percent of the entire electorate.

Although it fell short of that mark, the strong turnout reflected the public’s heightened interest in the country’s young democracy, after a series of political events that culminated in the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, political watchdogs say.

Tuesday’s election will fill the void in the presidential office left by Park, whose impeachment was confirmed in March.

This year’s election was the first in which early voting was allowed for voters who want to cast their ballot before Election Day. Many praised the new system.

“I had to go to work today, so I voted last week. If I didn’t do it earlier, it wouldn’t have been able to at all,” said Park Ho-se, 28, who works in Busan.

Voting was allowed at some 3,500 polling stations across the nation on Thursday and Friday. The turnout was higher than expected, at 26 percent.

Early voters said due to this system, Election Day has become an extra holiday for them. Many said they enjoyed their days -- sleeping late, resting and hanging out with friends and family.

“I think I am going to see my friends today. It is better to vote earlier because then I have the whole day to myself without having to do something,” said Lee Doo-bin, a 32-year-old office worker.

“A voting booth happened to be near where I work during the early voting period, so I just did it. It was very convenient and simple.”

As of 2 p.m., 59.9 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballots, including 26.06 percent of those who participated in last week’s early voting as well as the votes of overseas Koreans.

Lee Chan-ho, 42, said he felt “very lighthearted” as he had already voted. “I am enjoying my day while doing a little bit of work I should get done. I will go for a walk in the afternoon.”

A total of 42.48 million people, or 82 percent of South Korea’s population, were eligible to vote in the election. Ballots were to close at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, with the results expected to take shape at around 2-3 a.m. on Wednesday, the commission said.

By Ock Hyun-ju and Bak Se-hwan  (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com) (sh@heraldcorp.com)