Voters head to polls in local by-elections
A voter casts a ballot at a polling station on the first day of early voting for the April 2 local by-elections in Seoul, March 28. Yonhap
Koreans voted Wednesday to elect the Busan's education chief and local government heads in low-key elections that mark the first ballot-box test since impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid.
Up for grabs are 23 seats, including the superintendent of education for Busan, the heads of Seoul's Guro Ward and the southwestern county of Damyang, as well mayors for the central city of Asan, Gimcheon in North Gyeongsang Province and Geoje in South Gyeongsang Province, among others.
The ruling People Power Party, which fielded candidates in three mayoral races in Asan, Gimcheon and Geoje, skipped high-profile campaign rallies for the April 2 elections amid the country's worst-ever wildfires and the Constitutional Court's pending verdict on Yoon's impeachment.
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, contesting five local government seats, also opted for a low-key approach even in battlegrounds like Damyang, where it faces a tight race against the minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party.
Observers say this week's by-elections may not necessarily serve as a reliable barometer of voter sentiment with the impeachment verdict looming.
Voting kicked off at 6 a.m. Wednesday and is to run until 8 p.m.
Turnout of the advance voting, held March 28-29, came to 7.94 percent, according to the National Election Commission. (Yonhap)