Seoul: Voter turnout for South Korea's presidential election on Tuesday reached a tentative 79.4 percent, marking the highest participation in 28 years, according to the election watchdog.
According to Yonhap News Agency, out of a total of 44.39 million eligible voters nationwide, 35.24 million cast their ballots by 8 p.m., as reported by the National Election Commission (NEC). This turnout figure includes early voting, which took place on Thursday and Friday and accounted for 34.74 percent, as well as ballots from overseas, shipboard, and absentee voting.
The preliminary voter turnout is the highest since the 80.7 percent recorded in the 1997 presidential election. It is noteworthy that early voting was not introduced until the 2017 election, indicating a significant change in voter engagement.
Tuesday's election, aimed at selecting a successor to the ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, commenced at 6 a.m. across 14,295 polling stations nationwide.
Regionally, the southwestern city of Gwangju, a traditional liberal Democratic Party stronghold, registered the highest turnout at 83.9 percent. In contrast, the southern Jeju Island had the lowest turnout at 74.6 percent. Meanwhile, voter turnout in Seoul was recorded at 80.1 percent.