As of 1 p.m. on the 30th, the second day of early voting for the 21st presidential election, the cumulative voter turnout was recorded at 27.17%. This is the highest figure for nationwide elections at the same time since early voting was introduced in 2014, but unlike the previous day, the gap with the 20th presidential election appears to be narrowing as time goes on.
According to the National Election Commission, as of 6 a.m., on the second day of early voting, a total of 12,063,051 out of 44,391,871 registered voters had cast their votes.
It is 0.28 percentage points higher than the early voting turnout (25.19%) during the same time for the 2022 20th presidential election, which recorded the highest early voting rate in history. This gap was at 2 percentage points on the first day of early voting, but then dropped to 1 percentage point today and has now entered the 0 percentage point range.
An official from the National Election Commission noted, 'Unlike the previous presidential election, where early voting took place on Friday and Saturday, this election is only occurring on weekdays.' At this rate, it seems likely that the final early voting turnout will be lower than that of the 20th presidential election (36.93%).
It is 3.76 percentage points higher than the early voting turnout (23.41%) during the same time for last year's 22nd general election.
The region with the highest turnout so far is Jeonnam (46.52%). Following are Jeonbuk (43.50%) and Gwangju (42.39%).
The lowest turnout was recorded in Daegu at 19.38%, followed by Busan (23.62%) and Gyeongbuk (24.17%).
In the metropolitan area, the voter turnout was recorded at 26.64% for Seoul, 25.58% for Gyeonggi, and 25.62% for Incheon.
The early voting that started on the 29th will conclude today. Voting hours are from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and those wishing to participate in early voting must bring an identification card and visit the early voting site.