Voter turnout likely to exceed 60%, with highest level since 1995 expected [June 3 Public Sentiment's Choice]

Voter turnout in the 9th simultaneous nationwide local elections is increasingly likely to exceed 60%. If it tops the 60.2% recorded in the 2018 7th local elections, it would mark the highest turnout since the 1995 South Korean local elections.
According to the National Election Commission (NEC), nationwide turnout stood at 57.4% as of 5 p.m. on the 3rd. That already surpassed the final turnout of 50.9% in the 8th Nationwide Local Elections in 2022, and it also exceeded turnout at the same time in the 2014 South Korean local elections, raising the likelihood that final turnout will enter the 60% range.
If final turnout exceeds 60.2%, it will be more than 9 percentage points higher than in the 8th elections. That would mean local election turnout, which had fallen to the low 50% range, has rebounded to the 60% range in just one election cycle. If this election ends at around 60.6%, it will be the second-highest turnout on record since the first local elections.
The upward trend in turnout was already visible during early voting. The NEC said 10,498,411 of the 44,649,908 eligible voters took part in the two-day early voting period held from the 29th of last month, putting the early voting rate at 23.51%. That was 2.89 percentage points higher than the 20.62% recorded in the 8th Nationwide Local Elections, and it is the highest figure ever for local elections since early voting was introduced.
High participation continued on election day as well. Turnout at 3 p.m. had already reached 51.9%, surpassing the final 50.9% from the 8th elections. By 5 p.m., it had climbed to 57.4%, 9.8 percentage points higher than the 47.6% recorded at the same time in 2022 and above the 56.1% seen in 2014. Another notable feature of this election is that the increase in early voting was not offset by lower participation on election day.
spring@fnnews.com Lee Bo-mi Reporter