Overview
- The National Election Commission reported a 34.74% early voting rate, the second-highest since 2014, with over 15.4 million ballots cast
- Regional turnout varied widely, topping out at 56.5% in South Jeolla Province and falling to 25.63% in Daegu
- Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung led the latest polls with 49.2% support, followed by People Power Party’s Kim Moon-soo at 36.8% and New Reform Party’s Lee Jun-seok at 10.3%
- Campaign debates have focused on plans for economic recovery and restoring democratic norms after Yoon’s impeachment and martial law attempt
- Election authorities faced isolated incidents including a ballot-handling complaint against NEC officials and the arrest of a worker who cast a vote for her husband