Seoul's preliminary voter turnout in the June 3 local elections stood at 63.6 percent.
According to the National Election Commission on Wednesday, Seoul's turnout was 11.5 percentage points higher than in the 2022 local elections. Among the capital's 25 autonomous districts, Seocho-gu recorded the highest turnout at 66.3 percent, followed by Seongdong-gu (66.2 percent), Yangcheon-gu (66.1 percent), Songpa-gu (65.8 percent), Gangdong-gu (65.8 percent), Nowon-gu (65.4 percent), Dongjak-gu (65.2 percent) and Seodaemun-gu (64.8 percent). Twenty-two of the 25 districts surpassed 60 percent, with only Gangbuk-gu (59.8 percent), Gwanak-gu (58.9 percent) and Geumcheon-gu (58.7 percent) falling short.
The preliminary nationwide turnout for the June 3 local elections was 61.0 percent. The figure includes results from early voting held May 29–30, which drew a 23.51 percent turnout, as well as absentee ballots.
That makes it the second-highest turnout ever recorded in a South Korean local election.
The all-time high remains the 68.4 percent turnout set during the first local elections.
The figure is 10.1 percentage points above the 50.9 percent final turnout recorded in the 8th local elections. South Jeolla Province led all regions with 65.7 percent, followed by Gangwon Province (64.5 percent), South Gyeongsang Province (64.4 percent) and Daegu and Ulsan (64.2 percent). Gwangju posted the lowest turnout at 54.3 percent, followed by Jeju (56.4 percent), Incheon (58.2 percent) and Gyeonggi Province (58.4 percent).
Seoul ranked seventh among the country's 17 cities and provinces.
cook@heraldcorp.com
