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| People wait in line to cast their early votes for the March 9 presidential election at a local polling station in Seoul, March 5. AP-Yonhap |
Two-day early voting for the March 9 presidential election ended Saturday with a record turnout of 36.93 percent, reflecting high voter interest in what is expected to be one of the closest presidential races in history.
More than 16.3 million of the country's 44.2 million voters cast their ballots Friday and Saturday, topping the previous record turnout of 26.69 percent during early voting for the 2020 parliamentary elections, according to the National Election Commission (NEC).
Voting closed about four hours after the designated time of 6 p.m. as polling stations scrambled to accommodate COVID-19 patients and those in quarantine who were told to arrive at a polling booth between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. in order to vote.
Some patients said they waited for up two hours, while others reportedly fainted. Moreover, some patients complained of possible electoral fraud because their ballots were collected in boxes or shopping bags instead of regular ballot boxes.
Both the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) had encouraged people to vote early, claiming high turnout would benefit their respective candidates in the tight race.
DPK presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung and PPP candidate Yoon Suk-yeol cast their ballots Friday, as did President Moon Jae-in.
On Saturday, the rival candidates ramped up their campaigns in swing provinces, with Lee focusing on his home turf of Gyeonggi Province. He was the governor of South Korea's most populous province before he became the DPK presidential candidate.
Lee's campaign trail included stops in Hanam, Seongnam, Yongin, Osan, Pyeongtaek and Siheung. Seongnam is Lee's "political hometown," as he served two consecutive terms as mayor of the city from 2010 to 2018.
Earlier Saturday, Lee visited the eastern coastal regions of Uljin and Samcheok where a wildfire has been raging since Friday, and vowed to beef up state support for evacuees.
The fire has destroyed 193 homes and forced nearly the evacuation of 10,000 people to shelters, according to the government. No casualties have been reported.
Yoon started the day by visiting Jecheon and Chungju, both in North Chungcheong Province.
He lashed out at the government over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting it was to blame for the recent drastic surge in infections, and called for stern judgment through the election.
The country reported 254,327 new virus cases for Friday following the record high daily tally of 266,853 logged the previous day amid the continued spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.
The former prosecutor general then traveled to Gyeonggi Province to hold rallies in Yeoju, Icheon, Gwangju and Namyangju before wrapping up the day's campaigning in Seoul.
In Icheon and Seoul, he was joined by Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People's Party, who withdrew from the race Thursday to support Yoon.
Ahn, who had been running third in opinion polls, has been expected to deliver a boost to Yoon's campaign by merging candidacies at a time when Yoon and Lee have been running neck and neck in the polls with around 40 percent support each.
Meanwhile, Sim Sang-jeung of the minor progressive Justice Party began the day in Gwangju, some 330 kilometers southwest of Seoul, where she visited the national cemetery for the 1980 pro-democracy uprising.
Sim then held campaign rallies in Seoul with a focus on women and young voters. (Yonhap)
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