Parties urge votes on election day, highlighting close historical outcomes and criticizing rivals

On election day, South Korean political parties made final appeals to voters, stressing the significance of every single ballot.

Democratic Party leader Jeong Cheong-rae urged citizens to vote with the "desperate feeling that just one vote is missing" for their preferred candidate. He recalled past local elections where ties occurred seven times and victories were decided by a single vote 13 times, underscoring the weight of each individual vote. The party's leadership concluded their central election committee meeting by holding up signs and collectively calling for participation.

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You must come to the polling station with the desperate feeling that just one vote is missing for the candidate you support.

Meanwhile, People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk, after casting his vote, stated that "voting is the only way to stop the arrogance of Lee Jae-myung." He criticized Lee's alleged "blatant intimidation" of the acting prosecutor general at a cabinet meeting, calling it "extreme arrogance." Jang also suggested that casting a vote was difficult, implying a flawed election process.

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Voting is the only way to stop the arrogance of Lee Jae-myung.

Cho Kuk-hyuk, floor leader of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, also encouraged voting on Facebook, stating that "each and every vote changes our neighborhood, our region, politics, and the Republic of Korea." He believes voter participation creates a new Korea.

As of 11 a.m., the voter turnout rate was 15.0%, a 3.0 percentage point increase compared to the same time during the 2022 local elections. The early voting rate of 23.51% was also a record high for local elections. Both major parties offered contrasting interpretations of the higher turnout.

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Each and every vote changes our neighborhood, our region, politics, and the Republic of Korea.