South Koreans begin early voting in presidential poll

SEOUL - Early voting in South Korea’s presidential elections kicked off on May 29, with both main candidates set to cast ballots in an election triggered by former leader Yoon Suk Yeol’s ill-fated effort to suspend civilian rule in 2024.

All major polls have placed liberal Lee Jae-myung as the clear front runner in the presidential race, with a recent Gallup survey showing that 49 per cent of respondents viewed him as the best candidate.

Trailing behind him is conservative former labour minister Kim Moon-soo from the ruling People Power Party – Yoon’s former party – at 35 per cent.

While election day is set for June 3, those who want to vote early can do so on May 29 and May 30 – part of an initiative introduced in 2013 to help those unable to cast their ballots on polling day or those planning to travel.

South Koreans have in recent years turned out in larger and larger numbers for early voting, with 37 per cent casting their ballots ahead of polling day in the 2022 presidential election.

Voting began at 6am (5am Singapore time) for 12 hours, and will take place again on May 30.

According to the National Election Commission, as at 9am, the early voting turnout rate was 3.55 per cent – the highest record yet for that time in South Korean election history.

Lee, who represents the Democratic Party, is expected to vote in the capital Seoul on the morning of May 29.

“Some say power comes from the barrel of a gun, but I believe a vote is more powerful than a bullet,” he told a rally on May 28.

According to a Gallup poll, more than half of Lee’s supporters said they planned to vote early, compared with just 16 per cent of