Park Il-ung (left), acting governor of South Gyeongsang Province, inspects a polling station at the Buk-dong Community Welfare Center in Gimhae on Tuesday. [South Gyeongsang Province]
Park Il-ung (left), acting governor of South Gyeongsang Province, inspects a polling station at the Buk-dong Community Welfare Center in Gimhae on Tuesday. [South Gyeongsang Province]

South Gyeongsang Province said Tuesday it has completed preparations to operate polling and vote-counting stations across the province for the 9th nationwide local elections, formally entering full election management mode.

Acting Governor Park Il-ung visited the Buk-dong Community Welfare Center and the Gimhae Stadium indoor gymnasium in Gimhae that afternoon to inspect safety conditions and review voter traffic flow. Park ordered thorough contingency measures for emergencies such as power outages and fires, and encouraged election workers on site.

A total of 921 polling stations and 22 vote-counting stations will operate across South Gyeongsang Province for the local elections.

The province and the South Gyeongsang Election Commission have deployed 13,053 election management personnel, including polling officers, administrative staff and police escorts. An additional 7,539 workers have been assigned to counting stations to support fast and accurate vote tallying.

Early voting held May 29 and 30 drew a turnout of 24.64 percent in South Gyeongsang Province — the highest recorded for any local election in the region. A provincial official said the result reflected a consistent rise in early voting participation in recent years.

The province and the election commission have also strengthened coordination with relevant agencies to handle emergencies such as power outages and fires. Korea Electric Power Corp. staff will be stationed at each counting venue, and electrical safety inspections at all counting stations have been completed ahead of election day. Fire department personnel, including 119 paramedic units, will also be deployed at every counting station in cooperation with fire authorities.

South Gyeongsang Province will operate a dedicated election support operations center through the end of vote counting to monitor the situation around the clock.


ook967@heraldcorp.com