Seoul: South Korea on Thursday witnessed a record early voter turnout on the first day of a two-day voting period to elect a successor to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted over his failed martial law bid. The polling stations in the capital Seoul were crowded as voting began at 6 am local time Thursday (2100GMT Wednesday).
According to Anadolu Agency, Democratic Party (DP) candidate Lee Jae-myung cast his ballot in Seoul, while People Power Party (PPP) candidate Kim Moon-soo voted in the city of Incheon earlier in the day. The National Election Commission reported that 19.58% of voters, equating to more than 8.69 million out of 44.39 million registered voters, participated on the first day. This marked the highest first-day turnout since the introduction of nationwide early voting in 2014.
In a controversial development, members of a group were reportedly checking for alleged "Chinese interference" at some polling stations in Seoul. They employed mobile phone cameras to film people entering the polling stations, claiming they were monitoring election fraud. However, no statement or reaction has been issued by the election commission or local authorities regarding the group's actions.
Long queues of voters were observed at several polling stations in Seoul, despite this year's early voting being conducted entirely on weekdays, unlike in previous years. Early voting commenced at 3,568 polling stations nationwide as voters prepare to elect a successor to former President Yoon Suk Yeol for a five-year term. Yoon was ousted after his abortive attempt to invoke martial law in December.
The two-day early voting period is set to conclude at 6 pm local time Friday (0900GMT), as per the National Election Commission. Currently, six candidates are competing for the country's top office, but the main contest is between two candidates. The latest poll, released Wednesday, showed DP candidate Lee leading with 49.2%, followed by Kim of the ruling PPP with 36.8%. Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party is third with 10.3%. The presidential election is scheduled for June 3.