Seoul: Voter turnout in Wednesday's local elections stood at 7.4 percent as of 9 a.m., marking an increase of 1.4 percentage points from the previous elections in 2022, the election watchdog reported. The National Election Commission (NEC) noted that 3.32 million out of 44.64 million eligible voters had already cast their ballots.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the southeastern city of Daeju and the eastern province of Gangwon reported the highest turnout, with each recording 9.2 percent. In contrast, the southwestern city of Gwangju had the lowest turnout at 4.8 percent. Seoul's voter turnout was recorded at 6.9 percent, while the surrounding Gyeonggi Province reported 7.1 percent, and Incheon, located west of the capital, saw a turnout of 7.2 percent.

The NEC also stated that the 23.51 percent turnout from last week's two-day early voting will be included in the overall turnout tally starting at 1 p.m. This early voting turnout was the highest ever recorded for local elections. Voting is set to continue until 6 p.m.