As of 1 p.m., 10.5% of all eligible voters had cast ballots, marking the highest early voting turnout at this point in an election

A voter casts a ballot with their child on Thursday at a polling station in Daegu on the first day of early voting in Korea's 21st presidential election. (Yonhap)
A voter casts a ballot with their child on Thursday at a polling station in Daegu on the first day of early voting in Korea's 21st presidential election. (Yonhap)

South Korean voters turned out in record numbers Thursday as early voting opened in the June 3 presidential election, signaling intense public engagement in a race to choose a successor to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office following a failed attempt to impose martial law.

As of 1 p.m., the national turnout stood at 10.51 percent, with 4,666,252 of the country’s 44,391,871 eligible voters having cast ballots on the first day of the two-day advance voting window.

This continues the record-breaking streak that began in the morning, with turnout hitting 5.24 percent by 10 a.m. and 7.0 percent by 11 a.m. — both the highest figures ever recorded at those hours in an election since early voting was introduced for nationwide elections in 2014. The 1 p.m. figure is 1.76 percentage points higher than at the same time during the 2022 presidential election, further underscoring the historic rate of voter participation.

Voters line up outside the Sogong-dong Community Service Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Thursday, the first day of the two-day early voting period for the June 3 presidential election. (Yonhap)
Voters line up outside the Sogong-dong Community Service Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Thursday, the first day of the two-day early voting period for the June 3 presidential election. (Yonhap)

South Jeolla Province led all regions with a remarkable 20.23 percent turnout, followed by North Jeolla at 18.55 percent and Gwangju at 17.66 percent. In contrast, turnout lagged in southeastern areas, with Daegu at 7.04 percent and Busan (8.98 percent), Ulsan (9.04 percent), and North Gyeongsang (9.11 percent) trailing behind.

Six candidates are vying for the presidency, but polling data suggests a clear front-runner. A survey released Wednesday showed Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party leading with 49.2 percent support. He is followed by Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party at 36.8 percent, and Lee Jun-seok of the minor conservative New Reform Party at 10.3 percent.

The winning candidate will assume office immediately for a single five-year term.

(From news reports)


khnews@heraldcorp.com