Early Voting Turnout at 3.8% as of 11 a.m., Up 0.2%p From Four Years Ago

Early Voting for June 3 Local Elections on May 29-30

Held at 3,571 Polling Stations Nationwide

Bring Your ID...No Proof Shots Allowed

On the first day of early voting for the 9th Nationwide Local Elections, the turnout as of 11:00 a.m. on the 29th was recorded at 3.8%.

On the first day of early voting for the 9th nationwide local elections on the 29th, citizens are casting their precious votes at the early voting station set up at the Administrative Complex in Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. 2026.05.29 Photo by Yoon Dongju

According to the National Election Commission, 1,701,493 voters out of a total of 44,649,908 eligible voters participated in early voting, which began at 6:00 a.m. This is 0.2 percentage points higher than the 3.6% early voting rate recorded at the same time during the 8th local elections four years ago. Although it is lower than the early voting turnout at 11:00 a.m. during the 21st presidential election and the 22nd general election held last year and in 2024, respectively, it shows a slight increase when compared between local elections. By region, Jeonnam recorded the highest turnout at 8.6%, while Daegu showed the lowest at 2.9%. In other regions, Seoul posted a turnout of 3.5%, and Busan recorded 3.4%.

Early voting will be held for two days from May 29 to May 30, from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., at 3,571 polling stations nationwide. The final early voting rate for the 8th local elections was 20.62%, while the 22nd general election recorded 31.28%, and the 21st presidential election reached 34.74%.

Unlike regular voting, early voting allows voters to cast their ballots at any location nationwide, regardless of their registered address. To participate in early voting, voters must bring an ID card issued by a government agency or public institution, such as a resident registration card, passport, or driver's license. Mobile identification is only accepted if the application is run directly and shown; saved image files, such as screenshots, will not be accepted.

In most regions, each voter receives seven ballot papers. In areas where a parliamentary by-election is also being held, one additional ballot is provided, making a total of eight. Taking photos of the ballots or inside the polling station for 'proof shots' is prohibited, and photos can only be taken outside the polling station building.

Both the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party encouraged early voting. Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party, cast his early vote in his constituency of Mapo-gu and stated, "If you win Seoul, you win the nation." The People Power Party, however, appears less proactive in encouraging early voting, considering the strong skepticism among its core supporters. Choo Kyungho, People Power Party's mayoral candidate for Daegu, held a press conference in Daegu the previous day and urged, "Voters who have doubts about early voting should participate in the main voting, but in any case, please exercise your precious vote by any means."

While some believe a high early voting turnout tends to favor the progressive camp, recent election results have not always supported this view. In the 20th presidential election, which saw the highest early voting turnout in history at 36.93%, People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk Yeol won the race.

Meanwhile, ahead of this early voting period, the National Election Commission has taken steps to block conspiracy theories by making the storage locations of early ballot boxes public via 24-hour CCTV and increasing the number of fair election observers by about threefold.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.