On the first day of early voting for the Ninth Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections, the turnout reached 11.6%, marking the highest figure since early voting was introduced for local elections.
The National Election Commission reported that from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on May 29, 518,486 out of 44,649,908 eligible voters cast their ballots, resulting in an initial early voting rate of 11.60%.
This figure is 1.42 percentage points higher than the first-day early voting rate of 10.18% recorded during the previous local elections in 2022. Since the introduction of early voting in the 2014 sixth local elections, this is the highest first-day turnout.
In terms of hourly turnout, voting started at 0.5% at 7 a.m., increased to 1.7% by 9 a.m., and reached 4.86% by noon. The turnout continued to rise in the afternoon, hitting 8.15% at 3 p.m. and 10.39% at 5 p.m., before closing at 11.60% at 6 p.m. This turnout surpasses not only the 2022 local elections but also the early trends from the 2024 general elections.
Regionally, the voting enthusiasm was particularly strong in the Honam region, with Jeonnam recording the highest turnout at 22.31%, followed by Jeonbuk at 19.39%. Other notable regions included Gangwon (14.37%), Gwangju (14.19%), Sejong (12.52%), Gyeongnam (12.28%), and Jeju (12.10%).
In contrast, the metropolitan area showed relatively low turnout rates, with Seoul at 11.22%, Incheon at 10.15%, and Gyeonggi at 9.78%. Busan recorded 10.68%, Daejeon 10.75%, and Ulsan 10.92%, while Daegu had the lowest turnout at 9.02%.
With the strong first-day turnout, attention is now on whether the final early voting rate will surpass the historical high of 20.62% set during the eighth local elections.
In the case of the by-elections for the National Assembly, Gyeonggi Pyeongtaek, which includes Pyeongtaek, recorded a turnout of 7.94%, while Busan Buk-gu, which includes Buk-gap, had a turnout of 11.72%. The average early voting rate for the 14 districts holding by-elections on the first day was 12.07%.
Early voting will continue for two days until May 30. Voting hours are from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and voters can cast their ballots at any early voting station nationwide by presenting an identification card such as a resident registration card or driver's license.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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