The first day of early voting for South Korea’s nationwide local elections ended Friday with turnout reaching an all-time high for a local election, as South Jeolla Province, a liberal stronghold, posted the highest rate and conservative-leaning Daegu recorded the lowest.
The strong turnout came as tightening races pushed rival parties into a final scramble to mobilize supporters.
Early voting turnout stood at 11.6 percent on the first day, the highest ever recorded for the opening day of early voting in South Korean local elections, according to the National Election Commission.
The commission said 5,180,486 of the country’s around 44.64 million eligible voters had cast ballots between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Friday.
Early voting turnout reached 0.5 percent at 7 a.m. and rose steadily throughout the day, climbing to 4.86 percent at noon, 8.15 percent at 3 p.m., 9.25 percent at 4 p.m. and 10.39 percent at 5 p.m.
The figure was 1.42 percentage points higher than the previous record of 10.18 percent set on the first day of early voting for the 2022 local elections. The comparable first-day early voting turnout for local elections was 8.77 percent in 2018 and 4.75 percent in 2014, when early voting was first introduced.
By region, South Jeolla Province posted the highest turnout at 22.31 percent, followed by North Jeolla Province at 19.39 percent, Gangwon Province at 14.37 percent and Gwangju at 14.19 percent, according to the commission.
In contrast, Daegu recorded the lowest turnout at 9.02 percent, followed by Gyeonggi Province at 9.78 percent, Incheon at 10.15 percent and Busan at 10.68 percent. Seoul’s turnout stood at 11.22 percent.
Early voting runs through Saturday, allowing voters to cast ballots at any designated polling station nationwide, regardless of their registered residence. Voting at 3,571 polling stations nationwide is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Voters are selecting 16 metropolitan mayors and provincial governors, 16 superintendents of education, 227 local government heads and approximately 4,000 local council members.
A notable feature of this year’s local elections is that by-elections for National Assembly seats are being held simultaneously in 14 constituencies.
The elections are widely viewed as the first major nationwide political test for President Lee Jae Myung and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea since the new administration launched on June 4, 2025.
Political parties on both sides quickly sought to frame the early turnout battle around sharply contrasting economic narratives.
Rep. Jung Chung-rae, the Democratic Party’s leader, on Friday urged voters benefiting from recent stock market gains to back the ruling party’s candidates.
“If there are people who are pleased while looking at their stock accounts or seeing profits as the Kospi rises, I ask that they vote for Democratic Party candidate No. 1,” Jung said during a central election committee meeting in Seoul.
“If you support President Lee Jae Myung, please vote for Democratic Party candidates.”
The main opposition People Power Party countered by portraying the elections as a referendum on the government’s economic policies.
“The public must send a stern warning against the government and ruling party’s wrong economic policies and arrogant unilateral rule,” Rep. Song Eon-seog, the People Power Party's floor leader, said during the party's meeting.
The increasingly fierce turnout battle reflects growing concern inside the rival parties over a race that has tightened in several key regions in the final days of election campaigning.
The Democratic Party had initially projected confidence in many metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial races, but party officials now acknowledge that several contests have become highly competitive.
Democratic Party secretary-general Jo Seoung-lae said Thursday that the party still viewed Seoul, Busan, Ulsan, South Gyeongsang Province, Daegu and North Jeolla Province as battleground regions.
“The side that turns out more voters wins,” Cho told reporters, urging party supporters to cast their ballots.
The People Power Party, meanwhile, has intensified efforts to consolidate conservative voters in the southeastern Yeongnam region that encompasses the North and South Gyeongsang provinces, Busan, Daegu and Ulsan.
Rep. Jung Hee-yong, the party’s secretary-general, argued that higher turnout would favor conservatives.
“If turnout rises, it is absolutely advantageous for the People Power Party,” Jung said during a news conference on Thursday. “We will appeal to voters on the need to properly check the administration.”
The election has also drawn attention to the growing number of foreign residents eligible to participate in local races.
Under South Korean law, foreign nationals aged 18 or older who have held permanent residency visas for at least three years may vote in local elections, though they are barred from presidential and parliamentary elections.
The number of eligible foreign voters reached 151,532 this year, up 18.7 percent from 127,623 in the 2022 local elections, according to data provided by the NEC and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
dagyumji@heraldcorp.com
