South Korea's early voting begins amid unpredictable political landscape

South Korea commenced early voting on May 29 for the upcoming June 3 local elections and parliamentary by-elections. By 9 a.m. on the first day, the turnout stood at 1.7%, with 758,381 out of 44,649,908 eligible voters participating. This initial rate is a slight increase of 0.11 percentage points compared to the same period during the 2022 local elections.

The early voting period, which runs until June 1, allows citizens to cast their ballots at any of the 3,541 polling stations nationwide between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Unlike the main election day, voters do not need to go to their registered residential polling stations. Voters in areas with parliamentary by-elections will receive eight ballots, while others will receive seven.

Geographically, Jeollanam-do province recorded the highest early voting turnout at 4.12% by 9 a.m., while Daegu showed the lowest at 1.24%. Seoul's turnout was 1.57%, and Busan's was 1.44%. For context, the final early voting turnout for the 2022 local elections was 20.62%, and for the 2018 local elections, it was 20.14%.

The political landscape is marked by intense competition and controversy. Discussions are ongoing regarding allegations of illegal and unregistered lending practices, with candidates like Kim Yong-nam, Cho Kuk, and Yoo Ui-dong facing scrutiny in the Pyeongtaek-eul constituency. Polls show a tight race, with Cho Kuk and Kim Yong-nam often neck-and-neck. Other races, such as Busan Buk-gap, are seeing shifts in momentum, while debates in Daegu focus on decoupling from national party trends versus emphasizing party affiliation.

Further complicating the political scene are allegations of smear campaigns and misinformation. There are accusations that the Oh Se-hoon campaign was involved in spreading defamatory content online targeting Jung Won-oh. Additionally, a former campaign official has accused the Park Wan-soo campaign of producing and distributing a "deepfake" video related to Kim Kyung-soo. The National Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) has also cleared Sim Woo-jung of allegations concerning preferential hiring for her daughter.