South Korea votes for metropolitan, regional heads
2026.06.03 14:13
| People cast their votes at a polling station in Songpa-gu, Seoul, Wednesday. (Yonhap) |
South Korean voters on Wednesday went to the polls to elect leaders of autonomous governments and councilors, as well as local education chiefs and 14 lawmakers at the National Assembly.
This year's comprehensive local elections and the parliamentary by-elections are the first nationwide votes since the presidential election in 2025.
Polling stations opened at 6 a.m. Wednesday, with 4,241 posts up for grabs. According to the National Election Commission, a total of 7,767 people registered as candidates.
Among 44.64 million registered voters, over 10 million had already cast their votes during the early voting period on Friday and Saturday.
About 150,000 foreign nationals who meet requirements including three years of permanent residency are also eligible to vote in Wednesday's local elections.
As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, the voter turnout for this year's election recorded 51.9 percent nationwide, up 8.8 percentage points from the 2022 election. The figure includes both the turnout on the election day with the early voter turnout of 23.51 percent.
Exit poll results and final vote counts were not available as of press time.
The previous local election in 2022, where the leaders of 12 out of the 17 highest-level municipalities were taken by the right-wing People Power Party, recorded 50.9 percent of voter turnout in total.
Since Korea began local elections in 1995, voter turnout has surpassed 60 percent on only two occasions, most recently in 2018, when it reached 60.2 percent.
Rival parties encouraged citizens to vote on election day.
Rep. Jung Chung-rae, chair of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, asked voters to go to the polling stations and also encourage their friends and families to cast their votes in order to "reinforce our democracy and make South Korea move forward," in the party's election committee meeting at the National Assembly on Wednesday.
"Every single vote will change the lives of you and your families, lead to the development of your region, and open up a bright future for the country," Jung said.
Main opposition People Power Party Chair Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok also urged voters to participate in the election and make a "right choice."
"Failing to vote means giving arrogant Lee the opportunity to abuse his power to erase his criminal cases. Failing to vote is like giving up your home, your property, your salary and your freedom," Jang said.
An expert said that this year's election effectively serves as an early referendum on Lee's first year in office.
"Voters are given an opportunity to either reaffirm or revise their choice from the presidential election, and the outcome will have a direct impact on the administration’s policy momentum and political legitimacy," said Hannah Kim, associate professor of political science at the Graduate School of International Studies at Sogang University.
"In this sense, this election is not only about political symbolism, but also about setting the practical boundaries of policy competition and legislative bargaining going forward."
Although the newly elected leaders themselves might not immediately be the game changers in South Korea's political landscape, the outcome itself could serve as a barometer for voter sentiment toward the liberal bloc.
"This election is less about the raw number of seats, and more about whether the opposition can show resilience, or whether the ruling camp can demonstrate overwhelming consolidation," Kim also said.
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