Record Early Voting Rate in General Elections... 'Handonghun Magic?' vs 'Ignited Regime Judgment?'

Early Voting Rate on the 6th Hits Record High of 31.28% in General Elections
Political Circles Show Divergent Interpretations of Early Voting Rate

The early voting rate for the April 10 general election recorded an all-time high of 31.28%. Due to the active early voting participation campaign even by the People Power Party, which had been passive about early voting, there are mixed forecasts about which party this record turnout will favor.

Park Jeong-ha, spokesperson for the People Power Party's Central Election Countermeasures Committee, said in a statement on the 7th, "The national aspiration for this general election has united support for the People Power Party," adding, "The record-high early voting rate proves how strong the people's anger and determination to judge the arrogant and immoral Democratic Party are."

Conservatives had been passive about early voting due to concerns about election fraud allegations. However, this time, with Han Dong-hoon, the People Power Party's Emergency Response Committee chairman, actively campaigning for early voting by himself and all affiliated candidates, the atmosphere is expected to have changed.

Chairman Han said during a campaign the previous day, "The early voting rate rose yesterday and today, but why did it rise?" and added, "It is because you went to the early voting stations to show how angry we are at the criminals." The National Election Commission will conduct multiple counts to dispel concerns about this early voting. The People Power Party has emphasized this point and worked to alleviate voters' worries.

The Democratic Party interprets the result as reflecting the public's enthusiasm for judging the current administration.

On the first day of early voting for the 22nd general election, voters are lining up to cast their early votes at the Euljiro-dong Community Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, which is recording an unprecedented turnout rate on the 5th. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

Kang Seon-woo, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said, "The people have clearly shown who the owners of this country are against the incompetence and tyranny of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration," adding, "The record-high early voting rate in the history of general elections confirms the angry public sentiment to judge the Yoon Seok-yeol administration 'as soon as possible.'"

The Democratic Party secretly hopes for a higher overall voter turnout. Earlier, Kim Min-seok, head of the Democratic Party's general election situation room, set the early voting rate at 31.3% and the total turnout target at 71.3% on the 3rd. On the 6th, Kim jokingly said on social media, "Sorry, I got caught up in early voting rate manipulation rumors," and added, "31.3%, fighting." The Democratic Party believes that the higher the turnout, the more favorable the election outcome.

Political interpretations of the unusually high early voting enthusiasm vary. Some analyses suggest that conservatives likely participated in early voting this time, but since regions with high early voting rates are mainly Honam, and Daegu recorded the lowest early voting rate nationwide at 25.6%, there is a possibility that the sentiment to judge the administration was at work.

On the other hand, there is also an observation that Chairman Han's active encouragement of participation may weaken the conventional belief that early voting largely favors the Democratic Party and other progressive camps.