On the first day, early voting for the 9th nationwide local elections posted the highest turnout for a local race on record. Turnout for the National Assembly by-elections and rerun elections held alongside also topped 10%.
According to the National Election Commission, as of 6 p.m. on the 29th, the average early voting turnout was 11.6%. That is a record high for the same time since early voting was first introduced in local elections in 2014. From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. that day, 5,180,486 of the 44,649,908 eligible voters cast early ballots at polling places nationwide.
At the same hour during the 8th local elections in 2022, the early voting rate was 10.18%, 1.42 percentage points lower than the rate on this day. On the first day in other years, early voting rates were 4.75% in the 6th local elections in 2014 and 8.77% in the 7th in 2018.
By region, South Jeolla led the nation at 22.31%. Daegu was the lowest at 9.02%. In the capital area, turnout was 11.22% in Seoul, 10.15% in Incheon, and 9.78% in Gyeonggi, all below the national average.
Early voting turnout in the 14 districts holding National Assembly by-elections and rerun elections was tallied at 12.07%. By district, Gunsan–Gimje–Buan in North Jeolla was highest at 24.8%, followed by Gongju–Buyeo–Cheongyang in South Chungcheong at 16.56%, Gunsan–Gimje–Buan Gap in North Jeolla at 15.66%, Buk Gap in Busan at 13.02%, and Pyeongtaek Eul in Gyeonggi at 8.43%.
Early voting runs for two days through the 30th, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., at 3,571 early voting stations nationwide. Voters may cast ballots at any early voting station nationwide regardless of their registered address by bringing a photo ID such as a resident registration card, driver's license, or passport. Mobile IDs are accepted only if the application is launched and the photo, name, and date of birth are verifiable; screenshots cannot be used.
Locations of early voting stations can be checked on the National Election Commission website and on major portal sites.