Koreans hit polls on last day of early voting for June 3 local elections

“South Koreans headed to the polls Saturday on the second and last day of early voting for next week's nationwide local elections and parliamentary by-elections, widely seen as a referendum on President Lee Jae Myung's first year in office. More than 5.95 million people, or 13.35 percent, out of 44.6 million registered voters cast their ballots as of 9 a.m. after early voting began at 6 a.m. the previous day, according to the NEC. The voter turnout was higher than the 11.81 percent recorded at the same time on the second day of early voting for the 2022 local elections. Up for grabs are 16 mayoral and gubernatorial posts, along with 227 heads of local governments and some 4,000 members of local councils. Eyes are also on the parliamentary by-elections that will fill 14 vacant National Assembly seats, with political heavyweights, such as Han Dong-hoon, former leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), vying for positions. In a poll released by the NEC last Thursday, 73.6 percent of respondents said they will definitely vote in the upcoming elections. Of them, 39.4 percent said

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