'Hot Public Sentiment' General Election Voter Turnout 67.0%... Highest in 32 Years

Highest Since 1992 General Election (71.9%)
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Lowest at 62.2%

The final voter turnout rate for the 22nd National Assembly general election was tentatively tallied at 67.0%.

The National Election Commission announced on the 10th that out of a total of 44,280,011 eligible voters for the 22nd general election, 29,662,313 participated, resulting in a tentative turnout rate of 67.0% (as of 7 p.m.). This is the highest turnout in 32 years since the 14th general election in 1992 (71.9%).

This turnout rate is 0.8 percentage points higher than the final turnout rate of 66.2% in the previous general election. Compared to the highest turnout rate ever recorded in the 20th presidential election at 77.1%, it is 10.1 percentage points lower. Since the civilian government era, the turnout rates for general elections have been △15th 63.9% △16th 57.2% △17th 60.6% △18th 46.1% △19th 54.2% △20th 58.0% △21st 66.2%.

The region with the highest turnout was Sejong City, recording 70.2%. Seoul followed with 69.3%. Jeollanam-do had 69.0%, Gwangju 68.2%, Gyeongsangnam-do 67.6%, Busan 67.5%, Jeollabuk-do 67.4%, and Ulsan 66.9%, all exceeding or close to the national average.

The region with the lowest turnout was Jeju-do, recording 62.2%.

The vote counting is underway at the counting center set up at Shingwang Girls' High School in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, following the conclusion of the 22nd National Assembly election voting on the 10th. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The voter turnout in the Honam region, where opposition party support is high, was higher than the national average, while the Daegu-Gyeongbuk (TK) region, which has many conservative supporters, fell short of the average. The turnout rate close to 70% is interpreted as voters showing high interest in politics due to theories such as 'punishment of the opposition party' and 'punishment of the administration.'

One reason for the high turnout this year is the effect of early voting, which recorded the highest rate ever in a general election. The early voting rate over the two days of the 5th and 6th was 31.28%, the highest since early voting was introduced in 2013. Previously, the early voting rate for the 21st general election was 26.7%.

Counting began around 6:30 p.m. at 254 counting centers nationwide. With the introduction of the ballot verification system to prevent election fraud for the first time, the outline of the winners is expected to be revealed around 1 to 2 a.m. on the 11th.