Early voting begins for general election
Soldiers from the Army’s 17th Infantry Division cast their ballots at a polling station in the Korea Polytechnics in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, Friday. / Yonhap
By Rachel Lee
Early voting for the April 13 general elections began nationwide Friday.
The turnout on the first day was 4.46 percent, as of 4 p.m.
The National Election Commission (NEC) said 1.87 million of 42.1 million eligible voters cast their ballots at polling stations.
This is the first time the NEC, the country’s election watchdog, has adopted the voting system for the general election.
It was introduced when the Election Law was revised in 2012, to help people who work irregular hours and others with difficulties in finding time to vote. It was first used in the by-elections in April 2013.
By regions, South Jeolla Province had the highest voter turnout of 7.78 percent, followed by North Jeolla Province with 6.86 percent.
Seoul had a turnout of 3.96 percent and Incheon 3.82 percent.
Busan had the lowest turnout with 3.61 percent.
Voters can cast ballots at any of the nation’s 3,511 polling stations from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. today.
A valid identification card with a picture is required to vote. Officials will conduct finger scans at polling stations, while prior registration is unnecessary.
The system is different from so-called “absentee voting” because eligible voters can cast a ballot at any polling station without notice.
Three polling booths have been set up at Incheon International Airport, Yongsan Station and Seoul Station to allow people travelling to vote. Many people have preferred to go overseas instead of voting on election day, which is a holiday.
If voters cast their ballots in their electoral districts, their ballots are stored until 6 p.m. on election day. If they vote outside their electoral districts, their ballots are mailed to their home districts.
The ruling Saenuri Party and opposition parties are paying keen attention to how the early voting will affect the elections because they believe the overall voting record tends to depend on the early voting rate.
The NEC previously ran early voting in by-elections in April and October 2013, with a respective turnout of 4.78 percent and 5.45 percent. The turnout rate for the by-election in July 2014 was 7.98 percent.
The watchdog also adopted the system for local elections in June 2014, which had an 11.49 percent turnout. The overall voting rate hit a 16-year high of 56.8 percent ― 20.2 percent of the 41.29 million eligible voters cast ballots during the two-day early voting period.
Location details for polling booths are available at www.nec.go.kr.