Early Vote Begins Today
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Two days of early voting for the Dec. 19 presidential election begins today nationwide.
The National Election Commission (NEC) said 810,502 people ― soldiers, police officers, long-term inpatients and the registered disabled ― are eligible to vote, accounting for 2.15 percent of the total electorate.
They are required to bring envelopes and voting slips sent by the NEC and their ID cards when voting.
Voting is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day at 506 polling stations.
Five additional polling stations have been established at five universities including Seoul National University, Yonsei University in Seoul and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon.
Special polling stations were also opened for soldiers participating in clean up operations in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, hit by the nation's largest ever oil spill.
``Even though they are working hard there to help prevent the spread of oil, voting is an important part of a citizen's duty. So, we decided to establish stations there,'' an NEC official said.
Voters, who are unable to visit polling stations due to physical difficulties, must mail their completed ballots to the commission no later than 6 p.m. on Dec. 19.
Registered early voters will not be allowed to cast a ballot on election day, even if they fail to vote today and tomorrow, the NEC said.
The commission also plans to establish 12,624 polling stations on the first floor of buildings to help the disabled take part in the presidential election more easily.
Soliciting support from early voters, frontrunner Lee Myung-bak of the Grand National Party (GNP) promised to create 600,000 jobs per year and boost employment for young soldiers.
Chung Dong-young of the United New Democratic Party (UNDP) pledged to cut the two-year mandatory military service period to 18 months by 2014 on a gradual basis during his visit to a military unit Wednesday.