Local election turnout hits 61% as of 11 pm, exceeding 2022 mark

Voters wait in front of a polling station in Jamsil in Seoul's Songpa District, past 9 p.m. Wednesday, as voting was extended to 10 p.m. from 6 p.m. due to a shortage of ballots. Yonhap

The turnout for Wednesday's local elections was tallied at 61 percent as of 11 p.m., according to the National Election Commission.

According to the election watchdog, 27.2 million out of 44.6 million eligible voters cast their ballots. The final turnout figure had not been confirmed as of 11 p.m., as ballot shortages at polling stations in southern Seoul forced voting to extend until around 10 p.m. for those who were already in line before closing time.

Early voting on Friday and Saturday drew more than 10 million voters for a 23.5 percent turnout — a record high for a local election, surpassing the 20.6 percent mark set in 2022.

Wednesday's turnout was higher than the 2022 local elections, which recorded 50.9 percent.

Election workers sort ballots for the June 3 local elections at a vote-counting center in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, Wednesday. Yonhap

Turnout in local elections has ranged between 50 and 60 percent over the past decade.

In the 2022 local elections, early voting hit a record high, raising expectations for a strong final turnout. However, the overall figure fell short, coming in roughly 10 percentage points below the previous election and marking the second-lowest participation rate in local election history.

The lowest turnout was recorded in 2002, when only 48.9 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots.

The 2018 local elections stood out with a 60.2 percent turnout, the first time the 60 percent threshold had been crossed since 1995, when the inaugural local elections recorded 68.4 percent of eligible voters participating. Analysts partly attributed the strong showing to the political and diplomatic climate surrounding the U.S.-North Korea summit, which took place the day before the vote.

The 2014 local elections recorded a turnout of 56.8 percent, with early voting reaching 11.5 percent.