The nationwide average early voting turnout for the 9th simultaneous local elections and parliamentary by-elections reached 14.29% as of 10 a.m. on the second day of early voting Friday, marking a higher participation rate than at the same time during the previous local election.
According to the National Election Commission, 6,380,240 of the 44,649,908 eligible voters had cast early ballots as of 10 a.m. that day. The turnout stood at 14.29%.
This figure is 1.62 percentage points higher than the early voting rate at the same time during the 8th simultaneous local elections in 2022 (12.67%). However, it is 9.04 percentage points lower than the rate at the same time during last year's 21st presidential election (23.33%) and 4.75 percentage points lower than the 22nd general election (19.04%).
By region, South Jeolla recorded the highest turnout at 26.81%. North Jeolla (23.48%) also surpassed 20%. Gangwon (17.49%), Gwangju (17.31%), Sejong (15.56%) and South Gyeongsang (15.20%) followed.
In contrast, Daegu posted the lowest turnout in the country at 11.15%. Gyeonggi (12.25%), Incheon (12.70%) and Busan (12.94%) also fell below the national average. Seoul stood at 13.81%.
Other regions recorded turnouts of 14.75% in North Chungcheong, 14.46% in Jeju, 14.39% in North Gyeongsang, 14.09% in South Chungcheong, 13.42% in Ulsan and 13.32% in Daejeon.
Early voting will continue until 6 p.m. that day at 3,571 early polling stations nationwide. Voters can cast their ballots at any early polling station across the country regardless of their registered address, provided they bring a photo ID such as a resident registration card, driver's license or passport. Mobile IDs are also accepted, but identity verification must be possible through the application, and captured image files are not recognized as valid identification.
