A final turnout above 60 percent would mark only the third time in local election history; all eyes on whether it surpasses the 60.2 percent recorded in the 2018 vote
Turnout in the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections stood at 57.4 percent as of 5 p.m. Wednesday, putting the final figure on course to exceed 60 percent for the first time since the 2018 local elections.
According to the National Election Commission, 25,617,431 of the 44,649,908 eligible voters had cast ballots by 5 p.m. The figure includes results from early voting held May 29-30, which drew a 23.51 percent turnout, as well as absentee ballots.
The 5 p.m. turnout was 9.8 percentage points higher than the 47.6 percent recorded at the same hour during the 8th local elections in 2022, and 1.3 percentage points above the 56.1 percent logged at the same hour in 2018. At that pace, the final tally could exceed 60 percent.
A final turnout above 60 percent would be only the third time in local election history, following the 1st local elections (68.4 percent) and the 7th local elections in 2018 (60.2 percent).
Among regions, South Jeolla Province led with 63.6 percent turnout as of 5 p.m., followed by Gangwon Province at 61.9 percent, South Gyeongsang Province at 60.9 percent and North Jeolla Province at 60.2 percent.
Gwangju recorded the lowest turnout at 51.5 percent, followed by Jeju at 53.8 percent, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon at 54.6 percent, and South Chungcheong Province at 55.8 percent. Seoul's turnout stood at 59.1 percent.
joze@heraldcorp.com
