Voter turnout in Wednesday's presidential election was 70.1 percent as of 5 p.m., with still two hours before the polls close, reflecting the high interest South Koreans have in the close race, according to the state election watchdog.
About 28.4 million out of a total 40.5 million eligible voters have cast their ballots since voting began at 6 a.m. at 13,542 polling stations nationwide, the National Election Commission (NEC) said.
The polls are scheduled to close at 6 p.m.
No voter turnout numbers for the same point in the previous 2007 and 2002 presidential elections were available. But the 4 p.m. figure for this year already exceeded the final turnout of 63 percent in the 2007 election.
The NEC forecast the final turnout for this year will be over 75 percent.
The race has been a dead heat between Park Geun-hye of the conservative ruling Saenuri Party and her main opposition Democratic United Party rival Moon Jae-in. Many pre-election surveys have shown the two running neck-and-neck within the margin of error.
Public interest is high for the election. Voters stood in long lines at polling stations despite a cold wave that pulled down temperatures to as low as 10.3 degrees Celsius below the freezing point in Seoul.
Election experts say voter turnout will affect the outcome of the polls as a higher turnout generally means more young voters participated. Moon is more popular among younger voters, while older voters are more supportive of Park.
An earlier poll announced by the state election watchdog showed close to 80 percent of the eligible voters said they would cast ballots this year. The total number of voters eligible to cast their ballots rose by 2.81 million from the 2007 presidential election. (Yonhap News)
“줄 서서 투표해보기는 처음이네!”
제18대 대통령선거에 대한 국민들의 관심이 당초 예상보다 더 뜨거운 것으로 나타났다.
중앙선거관리위원회는 19일 오전 5시 현재 제18대 대통령선거의 투표율이 70.1%로 집계됐다고 밝혔는데, 이 추세대로라면 당초 예상인 70% 전후를 훌쩍 넘길 것으로 예상되고 있다.
서울의 한 20대 유권자는 오후 한 시반 경에 느긋하게 투표소를 찾았다가 예년과 달리 구름같이 몰려온 인파에 한참을 기다려야 했다. 그는 “줄 서서 투표해보기는 처음”이라며 놀라움을 금치 못했다.
이날 오전 6시부터 전국 투표소에서 일제히 실시된 투표에서 3시간 동안 총 선거인수 4천50만7천842명 가운데 2천8백3십7만4천279명이 투표를 마쳤다.
이번 대선이 2002년 대선 때와 판도나 양상 등에서 비슷하다는 점에서 이런 추 세라면 최종투표율은 70% 후반대가 될 것으로 보인다. 2002년 대선 최종 투표율은 70.8%였다.
선관위 관계자는 "현재 별다른 사건ㆍ사고 없이 투표가 순조롭게 진행되고 있다"며 "투표는 오후 6시까지 진행되며 투표장에는 관공서나 공공기관이 발행한 신분증을 갖고 가야 한다"고 말했다.
Voters line up outside a polling station in Seoul on Wednesday.
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