On the afternoon of the 29th at 12:30 p.m., in front of the Sajik-dong resident center in Jongno District, Seoul, office workers who had finished lunch were lined up with their identification badges hanging around their necks. The line stretched about 200 meters from the entrance of the Seoul Museum of History to the resident center, forming a 'ㄱ' shape. The gathering of voters for early voting on a weekday afternoon highlighted the intense election fervor.
A company worker, Kim (37), said, "I think I waited about an hour," and added, "I chose early voting because I might have special plans on the main voting day (June 3) and can vote anywhere, not just at my residence." Another office worker, Jung (29), stated, "There aren’t any candidates I like, but I came with the thought of at least picking the lesser evil."
At the early voting site in the Sampeong-dong resident center in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province, close to 100 voters formed a long line even after 2 p.m., past the lunch hour. Those unable to enter the third floor where the polling station was located had to wait in line on the stairs and the second floor. Bundang-gu, where the Pangyo New Town is located, is an area densely populated with office workers in their 20s and 30s.
Kim (32), who works at a gaming company, said, "My company encouraged voting, so I made time to vote in advance," adding, "This time there was a candidate who proposed pledges related to the IT industry, so I voted for him. I hope the president will work hard for the development of the IT industry in the future."
Yoo (33), who lives nearby, noted, "After experiencing significant turmoil recently, I thought I should vote for someone who can handle this well. Given the difficult international situation, I hope the elected candidate can resolve these issues effectively."
According to the National Election Commission, as of 1 p.m. that day, 466,252 out of a total of 44,391,871 voters had cast their ballots. This means that 1 in 10 people (voter turnout 10.51%) participated in early voting.
This is a figure that is 1.76 percentage points higher than the voter turnout (8.75%) for the same time during the 20th presidential election in 2022 and 2.51 percentage points higher than last year’s 22nd general election turnout (8.00%). This result has pleasantly overturned concerns that voter turnout would be low on a weekday.
The early voting system, introduced in 2013, has been growing in importance each year. In the recent 20th presidential election, the early voting rate was 36.93%, the highest ever recorded. If this trend continues, forecasts suggest it could approach the 40% range this year.
Early voting will be conducted until the 30th, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Voters can cast their ballots from anywhere in the country without special registration. Those who go to the polling station must present a photo identification such as a resident registration card or a driver's license.
With early voting rates reaching nearly half of the total voter turnout, major presidential candidates also visited early voting sites from the first day.
Even Kim Moon-soo, who raised suspicions about early voting fraud, personally went to vote in Incheon’s Gyeyang District, which is the district of Lee Jae-myung. Candidate Kim highlighted the need for a “communicative president,” while candidate Lee focused on being the “economic president,” emphasizing his goal to usher in a “KOSPI 5000 era.”
On that day, Lee Jun-seok, the Reform Party candidate, visited the administrative welfare center in Dongtan 9-dong, Hwaseong City, his district, to cast his early vote. Kwon Young-guk, the Democratic Labor Party candidate, voted at a nearby resident center after visiting an industrial complex in Yeosu.
On that day, Lee Nak-yon, the senior advisor of the New Future Democratic Party, who voted at the Sajik-dong resident center, spoke with reporters saying, "I was surprised that many more people participated in early voting than expected," adding, "It seems especially that many young people have come out. While public sentiment is often compared to water, with only the droplets visible on the surface, there is a massive force churning underneath. It feels like some powerful force that politicians cannot see is at work, and it is frightening."
However, due to concerns about election fraud, some conservative voters still tend to avoid early voting. Independent presidential candidate Hwang Kyo-ahn has been raising suspicions of election fraud, stating that "the numbers counted by the observers do not match the numbers appearing on the National Election Commission monitor."