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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Complaints filed against election authorities over poor management

Civic groups have filed complaints against top officials of the National Election Commission (NEC) over their alleged mishandling of early voting for COVID-19 patients last week ahead of the March 9 presidential election.The election watchdog came under fire over the weekend following revelations that patients were not allowed to put their votes into ballot boxes by themselves, and election officials instead collected them in plastic bags and other unofficial containers during the early voting for infected voters Saturday.Some voters raised the suspicion of election rigging, but the NEC flatly rejected this.According to legal sources, a civic group filed a complaint with the Supreme Prosecutors Office against NEC Chairperson Noh Jeong-hee, Kim Se-hwan, director general of the NEC secretariat, and other commission officials, Monday, alleging neglect of duty and a violation of the Public Official Election Law.The group claimed the NEC's handling of the early voting was "shockingly poor" and "unseen even in underdeveloped countries," and demanded that Noh be investigated. A separate civ

Mar 7, 2022
Complaints filed against election authorities over poor management

'Dogfight in the mud:' Korea's presidential election gets ugly

A TV screen at Seoul Railway Station shows presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, left, and Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party during a presidential debate in Seoul, Feb. 21. AP-Yonhap The race between South Korea's two leading presidential candidates has seen unprecedented levels of toxic rhetoric, mudslinging and lawsuits.How bad is it? ``Hitler,'' ``beast,`` and ``parasite'' are some of the choicer insults leveled by both camps. Some are even calling it ``The Squid Game Election,'' in reference to Netflix's megahit survival drama where people are killed if they lose at children's games. And the stakes? There's widespread speculation that the loser will be arrested. ``It's a dreadful presidential election when the losing contender faces prison. Please survive this dogfight in the mud!'' senior opposition politician Hong Joon-pyo wrote on Facebook.

Mar 7, 2022
'Dogfight in the mud:' Korea's presidential election gets ugly
  • Gender divide among younger voters shapes election

Gender divide among younger voters shapes election

Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea speaks while campaigning for the presidential election near Mount Dobong in Seoul's Dobong District, March 6. NewsisWomen in their 20s to 40s considered key swing voters By Ko Dong-hwanFemale voters in their 20s to 40s in Korea have become the barometer for who will clinch the presidential election on March 9. Public opinion surveys conducted in recent months have shown that eligible voters in their 20s and 60s showed more support for Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party, while those in their 40s and 50s showed greater support for Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Those in their 30s were almost equally divided between the two leading candidates, who are now neck-and-neck in their public support ratings. However, female voters in their 20s to 40s showed the least solidarity in their selections for any one candidate. Rather, they were distributed more evenly between the top two candidates. Perhaps the most glaring contrast among voters in this election is between the candidate preferences of men and

Mar 7, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan
Gender divide among younger voters shapes election
  • Will Korea's east-west political divide occur again this election?
  • 'Dogfight in the mud:' Korea's presidential election gets ugly
  • Candidates make last-ditch efforts to attract swing voters

Early voting for COVID patients tainted by allegations of mishandled ballots

An election site worker, right, in protective gear waits to collect a ballot from a voter at a polling station in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Saturday, during the period allocated for early voting allowing COVID-19 patients to participate in the March 9 presidential election. Yonhap By Nam Hyun-woo Early voting for COVID-19 patients in the presidential election has ended with claims of election fraud, as voters alleged the National Election Commission (NEC) mishandled ballots at polling sites across the country.Rival parties slammed the NEC's “unpreparedness,” warning that polling station workers' unprofessional handling of the early voting could trigger another vote-rigging controversy, following a previous conspiracy theory surrounding the 2020 National Assembly elections. On Sunday, the NEC released a statement on the previous day's early voting for COVID-19 patients across the c

Mar 6, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
Early voting for COVID patients tainted by allegations of mishandled ballots
  • Candidates differ on how to win peace on Korean Peninsula

Early voting for presidential election ends with record 36.93% turnout

People wait in line to cast their early votes for the March 9 presidential election at a local polling station in Seoul, March 5. AP-Yonhap Two-day early voting for the March 9 presidential election ended Saturday with a record turnout of 36.93 percent, reflecting high voter interest in what is expected to be one of the closest presidential races in history.More than 16.3 million of the country's 44.2 million voters cast their ballots Friday and Saturday, topping the previous record turnout of 26.69 percent during early voting for the 2020 parliamentary elections, according to the National Election Commission (NEC).Voting closed about four hours after the designated time of 6 p.m. as polling stations scrambled to accommodate COVID-19 patients and those in quarantine who were told to arrive at a polling booth between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. in order to vote.Some patients said they waited for up two hours, while others reportedly fainted. Moreover, some patients complained

Mar 6, 2022
Early voting for presidential election ends with record 36.93% turnout
  • National election commission apologizes over poor management of early voting

National election commission apologizes over poor management of early voting

A woman enters a booth to cast her early vote for the March 9 presidential election at a local polling station in Seoul, March 5. AP-Yonhap South Korea's national election commission apologized Sunday for alleged poor management of the early voting for the March 9 presidential election, but it dismissed any suggestion of electoral foul play."We are sorry and regretful for having caused inconvenience during the early voting for COVID-19 patients yesterday," the commission said in a statement, vowing to swiftly address the issue for the upcoming election.The two-day early voting ended Saturday with a record turnout of 36.93 percent, reflecting high voter interest in what is expected to be one of the closest presidential races in history.Polling stations accommodated COVID-19 patients and those in quarantine for one hour starting at 5 p.m., during which some voters complained over long waiting times and possible electoral fraud as their ballots were collected in boxes

Mar 6, 2022
National election commission apologizes over poor management of early voting
  • Early voting for presidential election ends with record 36.93% turnout

Candidates differ on how to win peace on Korean Peninsula

gettyimagesbankThis article is the sixth and final in a series about the 2022 presidential election candidates' campaign pledges. In this article, their pledges for inter-Korean relations are examined and compared. ―EDLee stresses balance between deterrence, dialogue; Yoon vows 'peace through strength'By Kang Seung-wooWith North Korea steadily modernizing its arsenal of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, the new president of South Korea will have to work hard to deal with the decades-long unresolved issue upon inauguration in May. The two leading presidential candidates for the March 9 election ― Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) ― are open to inter-Korean dialogue and economic cooperation, but they differ in their solutions. Lee Jae-myung, left, of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, and Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party / Joint Press CorpsLee, 57, is following in the footsteps of previous liberal presidents who took the path of "reward first, denuclearize later"

Mar 6, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
Candidates differ on how to win peace on Korean Peninsula
  • Rival candidates in neck-and-neck race, but Yoon-Ahn unification effect not reflected
  • Early voting for COVID patients tainted by allegations of mishandled ballots

Rival candidates ramp up campaigns amid high early voting turnout

People line up to cast ballots for the March 9 presidential election on the second and final day of early voting at a polling station in Seoul on March 5. Yonhap The rival presidential candidates ramped up their campaigns in swing provinces on the second and final day of early voting Saturday, with high voter interest in the tight race expected to lead to record turnout.As of 1 p.m., Saturday, turnout came to 26.89 percent, as more than 18.86 million out of the country's 44.2 million voters have cast their ballots for the March 9 presidential election, according to the National Election Commission (NEC).The figure surpassed the final voter turnout of early voting for the 2017 presidential election and is expected to set a new record.During Friday's early voting, turnout was 17.57 percent, the highest-ever for the first day since the early voting system was introduced in 2014.The NEC had earlier projected the final early voting turnout could surpass 30 percent. The c

Mar 5, 2022
Rival candidates ramp up campaigns amid high early voting turnout
  • Rival candidates in neck-and-neck race, but Yoon-Ahn unification effect not reflected

Rival candidates in neck-and-neck race, but Yoon-Ahn unification effect not reflected

Candidate posters for the presidential election are posted along a street in Seoul's Jongno District, Wednesday. From the left are Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party and Sim Sang-jung of the minor progressive Justice Party. YonhapBy Jung Da-min The two main presidential candidates, Lee Jae-myung of the ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), were in a neck-and-neck race in opinion polls conducted before March 2. But the effects of Yoon's unification of candidacies with Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition conservative People's Party, announced March 3, will not be known until the election ends next week.As the election is set to take place on March 9, opinion polls conducted during the seven days preceding and including it, from March 3 to 9, are banned from release under the Election Law, as they could affect public opinion and distort the free choice of the people's preferred candidate. According to a survey of 1,002 adults conducted

Mar 5, 2022
Rival candidates in neck-and-neck race, but Yoon-Ahn unification effect not reflected
  • Will Korea's east-west political divide occur again this election?
  • Candidates differ on how to win peace on Korean Peninsula
  • Tight presidential race attracting record turnout in early voting
  • Rival candidates ramp up campaigns amid high early voting turnout

Tight presidential race attracting record turnout in early voting

A voter casts their ballot at a polling station in Gwangju, Friday, the first day of the two-day early voting period for the 20th presidential election. YonhapRival parties encourage supporters to cast early ballotsBy Jung Da-minWith the two main rival parties, the ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition conservative People Power Party (PPP), actively encouraging their supporters to participate in early voting for the 20th presidential election, the turnout is expected to reach a record high. The turnout on the first day was 17.6 percent, compared with 11.7 percent from the first day of early voting in the 2017 election.Political watchers said more voters were expected to participate in the two-day early voting period on Friday and Saturday, especially under the current pandemic conditions where the daily number of COVID-19 cases has continued to skyrocket over the past weeks.Major presidential candidates, including the two leading rivals, Lee Jae-myung of the DPK and Yoon Suk-yeol of the PPP, as well as Sim Sang-jung of minor opposition progressive Jus

Mar 4, 2022
Tight presidential race attracting record turnout in early voting
  • Dos and don'ts on Election Day
  • Rival candidates in neck-and-neck race, but Yoon-Ahn unification effect not reflected
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