Record High of 19.58% on the First Day
Growth Slows Due to Weekday Effect
After-Work Voting Participation Emerges as a Key Variable
Amid confirmation of strong voter participation in the 21st presidential election, attention is focused on whether the early voting rate, which has already surpassed the previous record high of 36.93%, will reach 40%. On the first day, the early voting rate hit 19.58%, setting a new record. However, on the second day, May 30, the upward momentum in the early voting rate appears to be slowing, making it unlikely that the 40% threshold will be surpassed.
According to the National Election Commission as of 11 a.m. on this day, the nationwide early voting rate stood at 24.55%, with 10,899,306 out of 44,391,871 eligible voters having participated. The record-breaking streak for the highest time-specific early voting rates in nationwide elections continued.
On the last day of early voting for the 21st presidential election, May 30, a voter who visited the early voting station in Sinchon-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, near Yonsei University and Ewha Womans University, is verifying their vote after casting it. 2025.5.30. Photo by Kang Jinhyung
The key variable is that, unlike three years ago during the 20th presidential election when the second day of early voting fell on a Saturday (a holiday), this time it is a weekday (Friday). In the 2022 presidential election, 17.57% of voters participated on the first day and 19.36% on the second day, resulting in a final early voting rate of 36.93%. For this presidential election, the first-day voting rate was 19.58%, up by 2.01 percentage points compared to the previous election. If the upward trend in early voting continues as it did the previous day, surpassing 40% is possible.
However, it is notable that the increase in the early voting rate on the second day is relatively subdued. Since the second day is not a weekend, unlike the previous presidential election, the growth in the voting rate on the second day is lower compared to the 20th presidential election. At 7 a.m. and 8 a.m., the early voting rates for this election were higher by 0.12 and 0.07 percentage points, respectively, than in the previous election. However, from 9 a.m. onward, the hourly voting rates during the 20th presidential election were higher. While many office workers voted on their way to work early in the morning, the momentum subsided afterward.
The voting rate on the second day is also lower compared to the first day. Between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. on May 29, 1.21% of voters participated, but on the second day, only 0.83% voted during the same hour. Compared to the previous day, the hourly voting rates were also lower by 0.25 percentage points at 8 a.m., 0.36 percentage points at 9 a.m., and 0.5 percentage points at 10 a.m. Considering this trend, the final early voting rate may remain at 37-38%. However, since many people are expected to vote during their lunch break, and because it is Friday, a significant number of people may leave work early to participate in early voting. Therefore, the possibility of setting a new record for the highest early voting rate remains.
On the 30th, the last day of early voting for the 21st presidential election, a voter cast a ballot at the Sinchon-dong early voting station in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, located near Yonsei University and Ewha Womans University. At the Sinchon-dong early voting station, there was an incident the previous day where out-of-district early voters completed identity verification and received their ballots, resulting in a queue for voting extending outside the polling station. May 30, 2025. Photo by Kang Jinhyung
The Democratic Party’s Central Election Countermeasures Committee conducted a campaign to encourage early voting before their meeting. Senior campaign managers such as Yoon Yeojoon and Park Chandae held placards with phrases like "Anywhere until 6 p.m. today" and "ID required," urging people to participate in early voting. Yoon stated, "Many citizens visited polling stations on the first day of early voting," and added, "Despite their claims of election fraud, the early voting system has taken root among the people." On this day, Kim Moonsu, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, issued a public appeal, asking voters to judge candidate Lee Jaemyung through their participation in the vote.
Meanwhile, on the first day of early voting, May 29, candidates Lee Jaemyung, Kim Moonsu, and Lee Junseok cast their ballots in Sinchon, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul; Gyeyang-gu, Incheon; and Dongtan, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, respectively.
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