Tag: Voting

As usual Korea has a very impressive voter turn out for their Presidential election:

Voter turnout for South Korea’s presidential election on Tuesday hit a tentative 79.4 percent, the highest in 28 years, the election watchdog said.

Of the total 44.39 million eligible voters nationwide, 35.24 million cast their ballots until 8 p.m., the National Election Commission (NEC) said. 

This includes early voting that took place on Thursday and Friday with a turnout of 34.74 percent, as well as the ballots from overseas, shipboard and absentee voting.

The preliminary voter turnout marked the highest since the 80.7 percent tallied in the 1997 presidential election. Early voting was not held until the 2017 election. 

Tuesday’s vote to choose a successor to ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol began at 6 a.m. at 14,295 polling stations nationwide. 

By region, the southwestern city of Gwangju, a stronghold for the liberal Democratic Party, recorded the highest turnout of 83.9 percent, with the southern Jeju Island logging the lowest at 74.6 percent. Voter turnout for Seoul was 80.1 percent.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

At least they caught her for voting twice, but it does make you wonder how much more of this is going on?:

A Seoul court on Sunday approved a warrant to arrest a woman suspected of voting twice during early voting last week, including once by proxy for her husband, a court official said. 

The Seoul Central District Court issued the writ against the woman, only identified by her last name Park, citing the risks of her destroying evidence and fleeing. 

Park, a contract worker at the Gangnam Ward Office’s health center, is accused of casting ballots twice, once using her husband’s identity, on the first day of early voting on Thursday. She cast her own vote five hours later. 

For the early voting period, she had been appointed to a post responsible for issuing ballot papers to voters.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

With Lee Jae-myung leading by double digits in the polls this massive early voter turn out means there are a far fewer people to convince to change their vote in the upcoming days for the conservatives:

The two-day early voting began at 3,568 polling stations nationwide earlier in the day. The official election is slated for next Tuesday.

An all-time high of 19.58 percent of voters cast their ballots Thursday on the first day of early voting for the upcoming presidential election to elect the successor to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted over his failed martial law bid.

More than 8.69 million out of 44,391,871 registered voters, or 19.58 percent, cast their ballots from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, according to the National Election Commission (NEC).

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

For an organization that has been facing accusations of voter fraud, so much so that it was one of the reasons former President Yoon tried to declare martial law, this is not a good look:

Police are stationed at the Gusinchon-dong community center where ballots were allegedly taken outside the polling station on May 29 in western Seoul. [JOONGANG ILBO]

On the first day of early voting for the 21st presidential election, dozens of ballot papers were seen outside a polling station in Seoul, sparking controversy and raising concerns regarding electoral integrity. 
  
The National Election Commission (NEC) acknowledged the incident Thursday and attributed it to administrative mismanagement.

According to the NEC and eyewitnesses, between 11 a.m. and noon Thursday, a number of people were spotted holding ballot papers and return envelopes outside the early voting site at the Gusinchon-dong Community Center in Seodaemun District, western Seoul. 
  
A high number of out-of-district voters caused congestion, outlets including Maeil Business Newspaper reported, leading some citizens to receive their ballots after verifying their identities and then wait outside the polling station before voting. The NEC estimated that around 30 to 40 people had received ballots and were waiting outside. 
  
Several witnesses reported seeing people walk around the neighborhood with their ballot papers. One staff member at a nearby university said the queue stretched roughly 30 meters (98 feet) when they visited during lunch. 
  
“I thought the envelopes in their hands were informational pamphlets, but they were actually ballot papers and return envelopes,” they said.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

The overseas voter turnout for the Korean presidential election is extremely high. It will be interesting if this race is close if these votes will be what decides it:

The preliminary overseas voter turnout for the June 3 presidential election has reached a record high of 79.5 percent, the election watchdog said Monday. 

Of an estimated 1.97 million eligible overseas voters, 205,268 out of 258,254 people registered on the voter roll cast their ballots during the six-day overseas voting period that began last Tuesday, the National Election Commission said. 

That tentatively represents a voter turnout of 79.5 percent, the highest since the country adopted absentee voting for presidential and general elections in 2012. 

Overseas voting took place from May 20-25 at 223 polling stations across 118 countries. 

The turnout rates for the past three presidential elections were 71.1 percent in 2012, 75.3 percent in 2017 and 71.6 percent in 2022. The highest turnout for general elections was recorded last year at 62.8 percent.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The PPP has once again failed to make any strong gains in the Korean parliament:

This combined photo shows officials of the main opposition Democratic Party (L), including it leader Lee Jae-myung, clap at the National Assembly in Seoul on April 10, 2024. In contrast, officials of the ruling People Power Party, including its interim leader Han Dong-hoon, look gloomy at the National Assembly in Seoul on April 10, 2024. (Yonhap)

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) was certain to retain a majority in the National Assembly in Wednesday’s general elections in a major setback for the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Contrary to TV exit polls, however, the broader opposition bloc was expected to fall short of a two-thirds majority or at least 200 seats as the PPP was expected to secure about 110 seats in the 300-member National Assembly.

With more than 90 percent of the ballots counted in 254 constituencies as of 3 a.m. Thursday, the DP was leading in 160 districts, including many in the Seoul metropolitan region, while the PPP was ahead only in 91 districts, mostly in its stronghold in the country’s southeast.

Up for grabs are 300 seats in the National Assembly, with 46 of them to be allocated to the parties according to their proportion of the vote. Of the votes cast for proportional seats, more than 60 percent have been counted.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but if President Yoon was looking for any electorial mandate for his policies from the election he clearly did not get it.