Early voting for presidential election kicks off
Voters stand in line to cast their ballots at a polling station in Seoul Station, Friday, the first day of two days of early voting for the March 9 presidential election. Yonhap
Early voting for the presidential election kicked off Friday at 3,552 polling stations nationwide, with ruling party candidate Lee Jae-myung and main opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol expected to be among the first to cast their ballots.
Lee of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea is scheduled to visit a polling station in central Seoul at 8:40 a.m., while Yoon of the conservative People Power Party is scheduled to vote in the southeastern city of Busan shortly thereafter.
Voting is open to anyone who wishes to cast their ballot before Election Day next Wednesday.
Polling stations will open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. COVID-19 patients and those in quarantine will be able to vote if they arrive at a polling station between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday.
This year's presidential election is being held concurrently with by-elections for five National Assembly seats.
Early voting for the Assembly elections will take place at the same places at the same time.
On the campaign trail, Lee is scheduled to make stops in Hongcheon and Chuncheon in Gangwon Province before returning to Seoul via Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province.
In Seoul, he will hold campaign rallies in the eastern districts of Jungnang and Gangdong.
Yoon's campaigning will focus on the southeastern region comprising Busan, Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province.
In Busan, he plans to visit the United Nations Memorial Cemetery to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Yoon's campaign has been expected to receive a boost after Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party dropped out of the race Thursday to merge candidacies with Yoon.
Minor candidate Sim Sang-jeung of the Justice Party cast her ballot early Friday in Seoul and will head southeast to Changwon, Daegu and Daejeon to meet with voters there. (Yonhap)