By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
Koreans go to the polls today to elect a president, who will lead the country for the next five years.
Some 13,100 polling stations will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. nationwide for some 37.6 million eligible voters, the National Election Commission (NEC) said Tuesday.
The NEC said ballot counting will start at around 7 p.m. and will likely finish by midnight except for those cast in remote areas. It expects the preliminary result to be known between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m.
``We expect to know who the president-elect is by at least 10 p.m. if the result of the election reflects that of recent opinion polls,'' NEC spokesman Woo Jae-young told The Korea Times.
The wide gap between frontrunner Lee Myung-bak of the Grand National Party (GNP) and Chung Dong-young of the United New Democratic Party (UNDP) could lead to an early announcement of the electoral result, he added.
The voter turnout could be lowest-ever in the mid-60 percent range. According to a recent NEC survey, 67 percent of people said they would definitely vote. In the 2002 presidential election, the turnout stood at 70.8 percent, after around 80 percent said they would vote.
To raise the turnout, NEC Chairman Koh Hyun-chul has urged voters to exercise their suffrage without fail.
``Many are worried about a low turnout. This election will pick the next president, which is the most important thing,'' Koh said in a speech broadcast nationwide. ``Let's go to the polling stations because it is a festival for all of us.''
Political observes say they expect a low turnout because the election has been characterized by negative campaigning by candidates with corruption allegations against Lee, who has enjoyed unrivaled popularity.
A financial fraud case allegedly involving Lee dominated all issues throughout the campaign.
According to pollsters, support for Lee went down slightly after a video clip was released Monday in which he said he established BBK, the investment company involved in the fraud, while Chung saw his approval rate increase a little. However, the former Seoul mayor's support is still double that of Chung.
Some 41.7 percent of people support Lee, followed by 16.6 percent for Chung and 10.9 percent for independent Lee Hoi-chang, according to a survey by The Korea Times on Dec. 12, the last day allowed for public surveys before the election.
If he wins, Lee will face more challenges because a special counsel is set to reinvestigate the fraud allegations made against him. The investigation is likely to be completed before Feb. 25 when the new president takes office.
Candidates made last-minute campaigns by the legal deadline of midnight to woo undecided voters mostly in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. Voters in the capital and its vicinities account for 48.5 percent of the total electorate.
Former Seoul mayor Lee again stressed he would revive the economy if elected president, saying he needs a majority of support in order to implement his policies without resistance. Lee also made clear that he has nothing to do with the financial scandal.
Chung asked the voters to consider him a de facto unified candidate representing the liberal parties, and was sure that he could catch up with Lee. ``We can't elect a president who lies,'' he said, criticizing the former mayor and hinting at a post-election struggle to shed light on Lee's shady business deals.
The independent Lee Hoi-chang said he would organize a joint government with Park Geun-hye, the former chairwoman of the GNP, when elected. However, Park made no comment on this.