Seoul (CNN)Voters in masks and gloves, disinfected polling booths, and spaces between people as they queue up to vote. It's election day in South Korea during the coronavirus pandemic.
South Korea is the first country with a significant outbreak to hold a nationwide election since the pandemic began, which has infected at least 10,560 people in South Korea alone. But South Korea's government has won praise for its handling of the crisis, and already more than 7,500 people in the country have recovered.
As of 3 p.m. local time, 56.5% of registered voters had cast their ballot -- including those who voted early. That's 10 percentage points higher than the proportion who had voted at same time in the last parliamentary election in 2016.
At the last parliamentary election, the final turnout was 58%. It's possible that this year's turnout could exceed that, despite the difficult circumstances.
Millions of South Koreans are expected to cast their vote in Wednesday's parliamentary election for the 300 members of the National Assembly in an election that is seen as a mid-term referendum for the country's President Moon Jae-in and his party.
Currently, Moon's ruling Democratic Party holds 120 seats in the National Assembly compared with the 92 held by the conservative opposition party, United Future. Over the past few weeks, Moon's coronavirus response has boosted his approval rating, according to Gallup Korea surveys, and Moon will be hoping that helps his party's chances at this election. Full results are expected to be announced Thursday morning local time.
More than a quarter of the country's 44 million voters cast their ballot early -- a record proportion of early voters.
Seoul (CNN)Voters in masks and gloves, disinfected polling booths, and spaces between people as they queue up to vote. It's election day in South Korea during the coronavirus pandemic.
A South Korean woman wears plastic gloves amid concerns over coronavirus before casting her ballot for the parliamentary elections at a polling station in Seoul.
South Korea is the first country with a significant outbreak to hold a nationwide election since the pandemic began, which has infected at least 10,560 people in South Korea alone. But South Korea's government has won praise for its handling of the crisis, and already more than 7,500 people in the country have recovered.
As of 3 p.m. local time, 56.5% of registered voters had cast their ballot -- including those who voted early. That's 10 percentage points higher than the proportion who had voted at same time in the last parliamentary election in 2016.
At the last parliamentary election, the final turnout was 58%. It's possible that this year's turnout could exceed that, despite the difficult circumstances.
Millions of South Koreans are expected to cast their vote in Wednesday's parliamentary election for the 300 members of the National Assembly in an election that is seen as a mid-term referendum for the country's President Moon Jae-in and his party.
A voter wearing plastic gloves to help protect against the spread of coronavirus casts a vote for the parliamentary election at a polling station in Seoul.
Currently, Moon's ruling Democratic Party holds 120 seats in the National Assembly compared with the 92 held by the conservative opposition party, United Future. Over the past few weeks, Moon's coronavirus response has boosted his approval rating, according to Gallup Korea surveys, and Moon will be hoping that helps his party's chances at this election. Full results are expected to be announced Thursday morning local time.
A South Korean woman wears plastic gloves amid concerns over coronavirus before casting her ballot for the parliamentary elections at a polling station in Seoul.
South Korea is the first country with a significant outbreak to hold a nationwide election since the pandemic began, which has infected at least 10,560 people in South Korea alone. But South Korea's government has won praise for its handling of the crisis, and already more than 7,500 people in the country have recovered.
As of 3 p.m. local time, 56.5% of registered voters had cast their ballot -- including those who voted early. That's 10 percentage points higher than the proportion who had voted at same time in the last parliamentary election in 2016.
At the last parliamentary election, the final turnout was 58%. It's possible that this year's turnout could exceed that, despite the difficult circumstances.
Millions of South Koreans are expected to cast their vote in Wednesday's parliamentary election for the 300 members of the National Assembly in an election that is seen as a mid-term referendum for the country's President Moon Jae-in and his party.
A voter wearing plastic gloves to help protect against the spread of coronavirus casts a vote for the parliamentary election at a polling station in Seoul.
Currently, Moon's ruling Democratic Party holds 120 seats in the National Assembly compared with the 92 held by the conservative opposition party, United Future. Over the past few weeks, Moon's coronavirus response has boosted his approval rating, according to Gallup Korea surveys, and Moon will be hoping that helps his party's chances at this election. Full results are expected to be announced Thursday morning local time.
source https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/15/asia/south-korea-election-intl-hnk/index.html