South Korea Local Elections: 3 PM Turnout Surpasses 2022 Final Rate, Highest Since 1998

Voter turnout for South Korea's local elections and by-elections on June 3 reached 51.9% by 3 p.m., exceeding the final turnout rate of the 2022 local elections. This figure marks the highest turnout at this specific time point for local elections since the tracking began in 1998.

The number of voters who had cast their ballots by 3 p.m. was 23,164,097. Voting is scheduled to continue until 6 p.m. at 14,288 polling stations nationwide.

Geographically, Jeollanam Province led in voter participation with 60.0% turnout. Gangwon Province followed with 57.2%, and Jeonbuk Province with 56.3%. Initially, Daegu and Gyeongbuk were among the top regions in the morning, but their rankings shifted after the pre-voting turnout was factored in around 1 p.m., with Jeollanam and Jeonbuk having higher pre-voting rates.

Conversely, Gwangju Metropolitan City reported the lowest turnout at 47.5%. Seoul recorded 52.7% turnout, and Busan had 51.8%.

For comparison, the final voter turnout for the 2022 local elections was 50.9%, and for the 2018 local elections, it was 60.2%. The current higher-than-average turnout suggests significant public engagement in this year's elections.