The 9th nationwide simultaneous local elections and National Assembly by-elections are being held across the country Wednesday. Vote counting is set to begin around 6:20 p.m., shortly after polls close, with winners in major races expected to emerge as early as midnight Thursday.
Voting began at 6 a.m. at 14,288 polling stations nationwide, according to the National Election Commission.
Counting will begin around 6:20 p.m. once polls close. The NEC said results in races with wide margins between candidates could be known around midnight, while closely contested races may not be decided until 3 to 4 a.m. Thursday. The first tallies are expected to be released around 7:30 p.m., depending on conditions at each district election commission.
The count may take longer than it did during the 8th local elections in 2022. A manual ballot verification procedure introduced for the 22nd National Assembly elections in 2024 will be applied again this time, adding a step in which election workers manually recount ballots after they have been sorted by machine — slowing the overall pace of counting.
The NEC will open ballot boxes for regional government head races first, followed by the National Assembly by-elections and then basic local government head races. About 314,000 election workers have been deployed across 258 counting centers nationwide, including roughly 197,000 for polling management and 117,000 for vote counting.
The National Assembly by-elections are being held in 14 constituencies: Busan Buk-gap, Daegu Dalseong, Incheon Yeonsu-gap, Incheon Gyeyang-eul, Gwangju Gwangsan-eul, Ulsan Nam-gap, Gyeonggi Pyeongtaek-eul, Gyeonggi Ansan-gap, Gyeonggi Hanam-gap, South Chungcheong's Gongju-Buyeo-Cheongyang, South Chungcheong's Asan-eul, North Jeolla's Gunsan-Gimje-Buan-gap, North Jeolla's Gunsan-Gimje-Buan-eul and Jeju's Seogwipo.
The elections mark the first nationwide vote since the Lee Jae-myung administration took office a year ago. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea has campaigned on a message of holding the People Power Party accountable, while the PPP has sought to frame the vote as a check on the government.
A Democratic Party victory would give the government and ruling party control over local government in addition to the legislature and executive branch, potentially strengthening its political momentum heading into its second year in office. A strong PPP showing, on the other hand, could put the brakes on the government's policy agenda. Political observers say the results in Seoul and Busan will serve as the key indicators of the overall outcome.
rim@heraldcorp.com
