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Citizens line up to cast their ballots at an early voting station set up inside the Yeoksam 1-dong Community Service Center in Gangnam District, Seoul, on May 29, the first day of early voting for the 9th nationwide concurrent local elections. / Photo via Yonhap News

The National Election Commission (NEC) announced that voter turnout for the first day of early voting in the 9th nationwide concurrent local elections reached 5.9% as of 1:00 PM on May 29.

Since the early voting stations opened at 6:00 AM, a total of 2,633,446 individuals out of the country's 44,649,908 eligible voters have cast their ballots.

The figure marks a 0.58 percentage point increase compared to the 5.32% turnout recorded at the exact same hour during the 8th local elections in 2022.

By region, Jeollanam-do Province registered the highest participation rate so far, clocking in at 12.3%. Jeollabuk-do Province also breached the double-digit threshold at 10.31%, followed closely by Gangwon-do Province at 7.59% and Gwangju Metropolitan City at 7.25%.

Conversely, Daegu Metropolitan City posted the lowest turnout nationwide at 4.57%. Other regions exhibiting slower initial turnouts included Gyeonggi-do Province at 4.86%, Incheon Metropolitan City at 5.09%, and Busan Metropolitan City at 5.35%. Meanwhile, voter turnout in Seoul stood at 5.51%.

The early voting window runs for a two-day period, starting today and concluding on May 30.

Polling stations are open from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Voters intending to participate must present a valid form of government-issued photo identification upon arriving at an early voting center.

A total of 3,571 early voting stations have been established across the country. Eligible voters can pinpoint the exact locations of these polling stations by visiting the official NEC website (www.nec.go.kr) or calling the primary hotline at 1390.

                                                                                                       Online News Team