"I hope the selected person will make our country a better place"

The 22nd General Election Main Voting Day: Long Lines of Citizens at Gwangju Polling Stations

National Voter Turnout at 12 PM is 18.5%... Gwangju Records the Lowest at 15.7%

On the 10th, the day of the main vote for the 22nd National Assembly election, citizens gathered in small groups at various polling stations set up across the Gwangju area from early morning to cast their precious votes.

Although election day is a legal holiday, men in security uniforms due to work guidelines, high school students voting for the first time in their lives, young people casually dressed in slippers and sportswear, families who came to teach democracy to their elementary school daughters who do not yet have voting rights, and elderly citizens with gray hair using canes all visited the polling stations to fulfill their rights and duties as citizens.

On the morning of the 10th, the main voting day for the 22nd National Assembly election, a citizen is placing a marked ballot into the ballot box at a polling station set up at the Gyelim 2-dong Administrative Complex Center in Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City. Photo by Jin-Hyung Park

At around 8:30 a.m., at the Gyerim 2-dong Administrative Complex Center, the first polling station in Gyerim 2-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City. Due to the high early voting rate, there was no long line, but citizens' footsteps were steady. Unlike the previous general election, this was the first nationwide election after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, so most people participated without masks, feeling relieved and regaining their daily lives.

Citizens followed the instructions of polling station staff, completed identity verification procedures one by one, received ballots, and headed to the ballot box. When folding the ballot and placing it into the box after selecting their preferred candidate, serious expressions appeared on their faces.

Yun Mo (77), who came to the polling station with his wife, said, "I voted keeping in mind who is the right person with fresh ideas to make Gwangju a dignified city and to focus on revitalizing the local economy," emphasizing, "Gwangju needs new faces rather than old politicians."

Among the voting lines, Lee Jeong-seon, Superintendent of Education of Gwangju Metropolitan City, attracted attention by visiting the polling station with students. He said, "Voting is the flower of democracy and a precious right to participate," adding, "I came to the polling station with students hoping many will participate in voting."

Although the polling stations proceeded smoothly in a generally calm atmosphere that day, there were some unexpected incidents. Before 9 a.m., three voters mistakenly turned back after confusing the polling station, and an elderly person who appeared to have difficulty moving initially did not mark the proportional representation ballot but went back to mark it again.

Earlier, around 6:50 a.m., a man estimated to be in his 40s or 50s entered the ballot box with his mother (in her 80s) and was stopped by polling station staff. Ignoring the staff's request to wait briefly for discussion on whether the vote would be invalid, he even tore and damaged his mother's ballot paper. The election commission and police are currently investigating the exact circumstances of the incident.

At the second polling station in Chungjang-dong, Dong-gu, a continuous line of voters of all ages was observed. Four election management staff members efficiently handled their assigned tasks like machines, and about ten election observers monitored the issuance and voting status of ballots to ensure fair voting, filling the polling station.

Choi Bae-ho (71), a security guard working at a nearby officetel, visited the polling station during his break at work. He said that during the 2022 presidential election, he did not vote because he assumed the candidate he supported would naturally win. However, when that candidate lost by a narrow margin, he felt guilty for not voting and came to the polling station this time to prevent a repeat of that situation.

Choi said, "This is a crucial matter determining the direction of the country after the presidential election. There is no such thing as 'naturally' in voting," adding, "Regardless of whether the candidate you support is favored or not, I hope people exercise their rights."

New university students aged 20, Lee Da-bin (20) and Kim Jin-seon (20), also visited the polling station. They said, "We don't know much about politics yet, but we read the pledge books sent to our homes before election day and studied the candidates' pledges and backgrounds to decide whom to support," adding, "It's a secret who I voted for, but I was interested in candidates who proposed feasible pledges regardless of party."

Also, a family entering the polling station changed the quiet atmosphere into a warm one. Although their elementary school daughter does not yet have voting rights, they brought her to show her the scene of democracy at the polling station.

Seo Bo-hyun (12) said, "My dad explained that today's vote is like choosing the sports director and entertainment director at school rather than the president or vice president," adding, "I didn't vote, but I hope the people elected make the Republic of Korea a better country."

Meanwhile, voting on that day continued until 6 p.m. As of 12 noon, the nationwide turnout rate was 18.5%, and Gwangju showed a turnout rate of 15.7%. Compared to the 21st general election at the same time, this was 0.6 percentage points lower, marking the lowest turnout rate nationwide at present.