South Korea is poised to break records in early voting as more than 12 million citizens cast their ballots ahead of next week’s presidential election, signaling unprecedented engagement in a politically turbulent year, as per Al Jazeera.
As of midday Friday, early voter turnout had surpassed 27 percent of the country’s 44.3 million eligible voters. Early voting began Thursday and will conclude by the end of the day Friday, ahead of the main election on Tuesday.
This year’s vote follows a period of intense political upheaval sparked by the impeachment of President Yoon Sook-yeol. Yoon was removed from office in April after the Constitutional Court upheld a parliamentary vote to impeach him in December. The former president had controversially declared martial law and ordered the detention of opposition leaders, citing national security concerns.
The Democratic Party’s Lee Jae-myung currently leads the presidential race with 42.9 percent support. He is followed by Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) with 36.8 percent, and New Reform Party candidate Lee Jun-seok in a distant third with 10.3 percent.
High early voter turnout has been observed in Democratic Party strongholds, while participation in conservative regions such as Gyeongsang Province has lagged behind. Observers suggest this may reflect shifting political energy in the wake of Yoon’s impeachment.
The election campaign has been marred by rising political tension and safety concerns. Authorities reported increased incidents of vandalism targeting campaign materials and said they had detained nearly 700 people over related offenses. Threats against candidates have also raised security concerns, prompting frontrunner Lee to wear a bulletproof vest and reinforce security at campaign events.
Police have confirmed 11 online threats targeting Lee, with an additional threat directed at the New Reform Party’s candidate.
