![Former President Park Geun-hye casts her ballot at a polling station set up at Biseul Elementary School in Dalseong-gun, Daegu, on Wednesday, the voting day for the 9th nationwide simultaneous local elections. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/03/rcv.YNA.20260603.PYH2026060305360005300_P1.jpg)
Former President Park Geun-hye cast her ballot Wednesday at the No. 3 polling station in Yuga-eup, Dalseong-gun, Daegu, on the day of the June 3 local elections.
Park arrived at the polling station set up at Biseul Elementary School at around 10 a.m. Some 20 police officers and security personnel had begun securing the site an hour earlier, with crowd-control barriers in place.
The polling station is about 1.1 kilometers from her private residence in a straight line — not the nearest one to her home, but the location where she is registered on the voter rolls.
Park queued behind voters who had arrived before her, waiting about five minutes while exchanging brief words with her security detail and polling staff.
After verifying her identity, she received her ballots and voted. Because a National Assembly by-election was also being held in her district, she would normally have received eight ballots, but the uncontested election of a proportional-representation ward council member reduced the total to seven.
Speaking to reporters after casting her vote, Park said voting is "a truly important right of the people, and at the same time a duty," adding that she hoped "everyone will exercise that precious vote so we can build a better future for our country."
She went on to say, "Each and every precious vote comes together to determine the direction our country will take, so my wish is not just that 'many' people participate, but that people 'without fail' participate."
When reporters asked about her plans for conservative unification, she paused briefly before smiling and saying, "I'll just be on my way," and left.
dandy@heraldcorp.com
