Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
Koreans to head to polls to elect new president Tuesday
Campaign posters of presidential candidates are displayed at an apartment complex in Seoul, Monday, a day before the presidential election. Yonhap
By Anna J. Park
Candidates make final campaign push
Koreans will head to the polls on Tuesday to elect their president.
At 6 a.m., 14,295 polling stations will open nationwide. They close at 8 p.m., two hours later than usual elections, because this is a by-election following former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment over his Dec. 3 martial law declaration.
The number of eligible voters is about 44.39 million, including 15.42 million who participated in early voting last Thursday and Friday, and 205,268 who took part in overseas voting, according to the National Election Commission (NEC).
While the early voting recorded the nation's second-highest voter turnout at 37.4 percent, it remains to be seen how many will cast their ballots on Election Day. The total voter turnout in the 2017 presidential election, which was also a snap election, was 77.2 percent, and in the 2022 election it was 77.1 percent.
A polling station is set up at a badminton court in southern Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
Ballot counting will begin immediately after polls close, with ballot boxes transported under police escort to 254 designated counting centers across the country.
A joint exit poll result from the three major broadcasters — MBC, KBS and SBS — is expected to be released at 8 p.m., right after the voting ends. The exit polls will survey about 100,000 voters at 325 polling stations nationwide. In past presidential elections, eight out of nine exit poll results predicted the actual winner correctly.
When the final outcome will be announced depends on voter turnout and the ballot gap between candidates. In the 2017 election held following the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, it took just two hours after counting began — by about 10 p.m. — for Moon Jae-in to be projected as the likely winner. He delivered his victory speech around 11:40 p.m.
Members of the election monitoring group observe a test run of the ballot sorting machine at the vote-counting center set up in Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon's Bupyeong District, Monday. Yonhap
In the 2022 election, when Yoon narrowly defeated his opponent Lee Jae-myung by just 0.73 percentage points, Yoon was projected as the likely winner at around 2 a.m. the following day, eight hours after counting began. He delivered his victory speech after 4 a.m. For this election, it is largely expected that the likely winner will become clear shortly after midnight, early on Wednesday morning.
Prior to the legally mandated blackout period on the release of opinion poll results, Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidate Lee Jae-myung was leading People Power Party (PPP) candidate Kim Moon-soo by around 10 percentage points. Since then, the race has entered a zone of uncertainty, with fresh allegations and smear campaigns targeting candidates' family members.
Regardless of who wins, the incoming administration will face a mountain of urgent challenges, from filling the monthslong leadership vacuum to tackling pressing issues in diplomacy and the economy.
Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung greets his supporters during his final rally at Yeouido Park in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
A day before the election, the DPK's Lee kicked off his final day of campaigning in northern Seoul. He then traveled to Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province — where his political career began — and concluded his final rally that evening at Yeouido Park in Seoul.
In a press conference held in front of a local church in Seongnam, a site deeply symbolic of his entry into politics, Lee called on voters to make their voices heard. The church is known as the place where Lee decided to enter politics in 2004.
“Your single vote can change history and protect democracy,” Lee said. “Seongnam is where I, as a teenage factory worker, endured hardship but also nurtured my dreams. It’s where I led social change as a civic activist," he said, pledging to open a new future for Korea alongside its citizens.
Supporters of Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung gather at Yeouido Park, Seoul, Monday, as Lee leads his final campaign rally. Joint Press Corps.
He said that the DPK has a proven track record of governing in a unified and organized way.
"In the last general elections, thanks to your support, we secured an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly," Lee said. "If given the opportunity, an administration led by Lee Jae-myung and the DPK will transform the nation — just as we changed Seongnam, just as we changed Gyeonggi Province, just as we reformed the DPK itself. We will repay your trust by building a new Korea, different from the past."
People Power Party's presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo, center, raises his hands during his final rally at Seoul Plaza in front of Seoul City Hall, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
PPP presidential candidate Kim began his final day of campaigning with a visit to the Jeju April 3rd Peace Park, where he paid tribute to those who fell in the 1948 uprising. From there, he embarked on a cross-country campaign tour, moving through key conservative strongholds such as Busan and Daegu, aiming to consolidate right-wing support before concluding his campaign in Seoul.
During his Busan rally, Kim issued a renewed apology for Yoon's martial law fiasco: "I once again apologize for the emergency martial law that should never have happened. I, along with the PPP, have reflected deeply on it and vow to uphold the will and aspirations of the people, dedicating ourselves solely to the nation.”
Kim issued sharp criticism toward Lee, warning that Lee’s win could lead to an authoritarian consolidation of power.
“Lee is poised to seize control of all branches of government. He is attempting to impose a Hitler-style dictatorship,” Kim claimed, referencing the DPK's earlier attempts to impeach high-ranking officials.
Supporters cheer at the finale rally for People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo at Seoul Plaza in front of Seoul City Hall, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
He also condemned Lee’s economic platform as “reckless populism,” arguing that his cash-based programs would burden future generations with unsustainable debt.
Kim held his official final campaign rally at Seoul Plaza in the heart of the capital, making a last-minute appeal to centrist voters. Later that night, he continued reaching out to the public in western Seoul's vibrant Hongik University area and southern Seoul's affluent Gangnam District — areas popular with people in their 20s and 30s — as the PPP sought to energize young voters and drive up turnout on Election Day.
Reform Party presidential candidate Lee Jun-seok, center, speaks with students over a meal at the Tech University of Korea in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Yonhap
Reform Party presidential candidate Lee Jun-seok visited the Tech University of Korea in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, where he shared a campus meal with students. He then continued his campaign at Yeungnam University in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, then held his final major rally near Suseong Lake in the heart of Daegu.
Meanwhile, Korean Democratic Labor Party candidate Kwon Young-gook campaigned in northeastern Seoul's Hyehwa-dong area, highlighting issues affecting people with disabilities, workers and women before wrapping up his rally at Bosingak Pavilion in central Seoul.