People steady in early voting

A South Korean security guard stationed in Dokdo Island is casting a vote for the April 13 general election, Saturday. / Yonhap

By Ko Dong-hwan

People continued to visit polling stations nationwide Saturday on the second and last day of an early voting period for next week’s general elections.

Early voting for this election has turned out significant as a recent survey showed that more than a quarter of the electorate has yet to choose a candidate for the election on Apr 13, which elects 300 lawmakers for a four-year term.

At 3,511 polling stations across the nation, about 3.2 million out of a total of 42.1 million eligible voters have voted as of Saturday noon, according to Yonhap news agency.

On Friday, 5.45 percent of the electorate, or about 2.29 million people, cast their ballots until 6 p.m., the National Election Commission (NEC) said.

NEC officials forecasted that the number of early voters will be higher this year compared to the previous local and by-elections. The total turnout of early voting for local elections in June 2014 came at 4.75 percent, NEC said.

Eligible voters who cannot vote on the election day can show up at a polling station during the early voting period and cast their ballots.