Advance Voting Turnout Reaches 9.25% by 4 p.m. on First Day, 4.13 Million Voters Participate

1 percentage point higher than the previous local elections 4 years ago

On the first day of advance voting for the 9th nationwide local elections, the advance voter turnout as of 4 p.m. was recorded at 9.25%.

According to the National Election Commission, as of 4 p.m. on May 29, a total of 4,129,131 voters had participated in advance voting, which began at 6 a.m. Among the total 44,649,908 eligible voters, this represents a turnout rate 1.03 percentage points higher than the 8.22% recorded at the same time during the 8th local elections four years ago. While this figure is lower than the turnout rates for the 21st presidential election last year (15.72%) and the 22nd general elections in 2024 (12.60%) at the same hour, it is relatively high compared to previous local elections.

By region, Jeonnam recorded the highest turnout at 18.61%, followed by Jeonbuk at 15.91%, Gangwon at 11.75%, and Gwangju at 11.34%. In contrast, the lowest turnout was in Daegu at 7.20%. Gyeonggi recorded 7.68%, Incheon 8.00%, and Busan 8.50%. Seoul recorded a turnout of 8.76%.

On the 29th, advance voting day for the 9th nationwide local elections, travelers lined up to vote at the advance voting station set up in the Passenger Tunnel 2 of Incheon International Airport. 2026.5.29 Photo by Kang Jinhyung

Compared to four years ago, the upward trend in the Honam region has become more pronounced. Jeonbuk saw the largest increase, rising by 4.85 percentage points compared to the 8th local elections, while Gwangju (up 4.43 percentage points) and Jeonnam, which will undergo administrative integration this year (up 4.04 percentage points), also recorded significantly higher turnout rates. In the Yeongnam region, Daegu (+1.58 percentage points), Gyeongnam (+1.16 percentage points), and Busan (+0.96 percentage points) all recorded higher advance turnout rates than four years ago, whereas Gyeongbuk saw a decline of 0.47 percentage points to 9.68%, making it the only region nationwide to fall below its turnout rate from four years ago.

The advance voting will be held over two days, from May 29 to May 30, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., at 3,571 polling stations nationwide. The final advance voting rates recorded were 20.62% for the 8th local elections, 31.28% for the 22nd general elections, and 34.74% for the 21st presidential election.

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