South Korea sees rush of early voters for next week’s parliamentary polls

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – South Korea is seeing a rush in early voting as the country elects a new parliament next week, Yonhap news agency reported.

The two-day early polling began at 6 a.m. (2100GMT, Thursday) across the nation at 3,565 polling stations, with record-high numbers casting ballots in contrast with elections in the recent past.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, the ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, main opposition Democratic Party chairman Lee Jae-myung, and former President Moon Jae-in were among the early voters.

With an eligible 44.28 million eligible voters, elections to the 300-seated National Assembly are slated for April 10.

The vote is seen as a test of the Yoon administration as the ruling party is aiming to increase its seats in the parliament, where the opposition currently commands a majority.

As of 9 a.m., 968,438 people had cast their votes, recording a turnout of 2.19%, an all-time high compared with 1.51% in the 2016 general elections and 2.14% in the 2022 presidential election.

The early voting process closes at 6 p.m. (0900GMT) on Friday.