Voter turnout for South Korea's 9th nationwide local elections and parliamentary by-elections reached 46.0% as of 1 p.m. Tuesday, including ballots cast during the early voting period on May 29-30. The figure is 7.7 percentage points higher than turnout at the same hour during the 8th local elections held in 2022.
According to the National Election Commission, 20,518,553 out of 44,649,908 eligible voters had cast their ballots by 1 p.m. The corresponding turnout in the 8th local elections stood at 38.3%. From 1 p.m. onward, the commission aggregates early voting, overseas voting, shipboard voting and absentee voting figures into the overall tally.
By region, South Jeolla Province recorded the highest turnout at 56.1%, followed by North Jeolla Province at 52.2%. Gangwon came next at 51.8%, followed by South Gyeongsang at 49.4%, Sejong at 47.8%, North Gyeongsang at 47.3%, Ulsan at 46.9%, Daegu at 46.5% and North Chungcheong at 46.3%.
In the greater Seoul area, the capital posted the highest rate at 46.1%, followed by Incheon at 43.4% and Gyeonggi at 43.0%. Gyeonggi's turnout was the lowest in the country.
Other regions reported turnouts of 45.6% for South Chungcheong, 45.5% for Daejeon, 45.1% for Busan, 44.4% for Jeju and 43.3% for Gwangju.
At the current pace, final turnout including early voting is expected to land in the high 50% to low 60% range. The 2022 local elections produced a final turnout of 50.9%. The 2018 local elections ended with a final turnout of 60.2%, when the 1 p.m. figure stood at 43.5%. This year's turnout at the same hour is 2.5 percentage points higher.
Voting continues until 6 p.m. Tuesday. Voters must cast their ballots at polling stations within their registered residential districts. They are required to bring a photo ID such as a national ID card, passport or driver's license. Mobile IDs are also accepted.
