By Jung Seok-jun, The Herald Business
Preliminary turnout in the June 3 local elections stood at 61.0%, the second highest ever recorded in South Korea's local polls.
The National Election Commission said 27,249,586 of 44,649,908 eligible voters participated in the vote, which was held Wednesday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The figure includes results from early voting held May 29 and 30, which drew a 23.51% turnout, as well as absentee ballots.
The all-time high for local election turnout remains 68.4%, set during the 1st local elections. Wednesday's result is the second highest in the history of the local polls.
Compared with the final turnout of 50.9% in the 8th local elections, this cycle's figure is 10.1 percentage points higher.
South Jeolla Province recorded the highest regional turnout at 65.7%, followed by Gangwon Province at 64.5%, South Gyeongsang Province at 64.4%, and Daegu and Ulsan both at 64.2%. Gwangju posted the lowest turnout at 54.3%, followed by Jeju at 56.4%, Incheon at 58.2% and Gyeonggi Province at 58.4%. Seoul's turnout of 63.6% exceeded the national average.
However, the final official tally is expected to take additional time. Ballot shortages in parts of Seoul — including Songpa-gu, Gangnam-gu and Gwangjin-gu — delayed the close of voting in those areas Wednesday.
mp1256@heraldcorp.com
