Seoul: Voter turnout in Wednesday's local elections was reported at 15 percent by 11 a.m., marking an increase of 3 percentage points compared to the previous elections in 2022, according to the election watchdog.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the National Election Commission (NEC) announced that 6.71 million out of 44.64 million eligible voters had already cast their ballots. The southeastern city of Daegu and the eastern province of Gangwon led the turnout figures with 18.9 percent and 17.7 percent, respectively.

In contrast, the southwestern city of Gwangju recorded the lowest voter turnout at just 10.3 percent. Meanwhile, in the capital, Seoul, the turnout was 14.3 percent. The surrounding Gyeonggi Province reported a turnout of 14.5 percent, and Incheon, located to the west of the capital, saw a 14.2 percent turnout.

The voter turnout from last week's two-day early voting, which stood at 23.51 percent-the highest ever recorded for local elections-will be included in the overall turnout calculation starting at 1 p.m. Voters will have until 6 p.m. today to cast their ballots.