Korea's early voting system: Everything you've wanted to know

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Korea's early voting system: Everything you've wanted to know

Published: 27 May. 2025, 19:23

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

An older adult with mobility difficulties casts their ballot at a state-run nursery home in Suwon, Gyeonggi, on May 27. [NEWS1]

The two-day early voting period for the snap presidential election — open to all eligible voters nationwide — will begin Thursday.

Millions of voters are expected to cast their ballots in advance at 3,569 polling stations across the country before Election Day next Tuesday, prompting presidential hopefuls and their political parties to invest all their energies in canvassing for votes.

On Tuesday, the liberal Democratic Party (DP), backing its candidate Lee Jae-myung, said senior party members and Lee would likely cast their ballots on Thursday, the first day of early voting.

Pointing to the record-high overseas turnout, Rep. Yun Ho-jung, Lee’s campaign manager, said that public discontent with the "audacity of the insurrection faction" had "exploded,” castigating conservative politicians for their support of ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted for his botched declaration of martial law last December.

Yun said his party would continue the overseas vote's momentum through the early voting period.

Presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, center, of the liberal Democratic Party encourages voters to participate in the election during his campaign in Gyeonggi on May 26. [NEWS1]

Rival candidate Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) said Sunday that he would likewise cast his vote early.

Kim asked people to “participate in early voting without worries,” noting that his party would thoroughly inspect the management of ballots from early voting.

His remarks appeared to address alleged election fraud concerns, mainly from supporters of former President Yoon, who cited suspicion over election management as a reason for the martial law declaration.

Lee Jun-seok of the minor Reform Party also asked young voters to “show their vote for the future through early voting” to get rid of anachronistic politicians through the election.

According to the latest public poll by Gallup Korea on Tuesday, the DP's Lee is the leading contender with 49 percent support. PPP candidate Kim Moon-soo had 35 percent, and Reform Party candidate Lee had 11 percent.

Who can vote early? And what must voters prepare?

Local election workers at Incheon Port carry ballot boxes to a ferry that will transport the boxes to islands in the Yellow Sea on May 27. [NEWS1]

Voters should be 18 years old or older as of Election Day, June 3. Any Koreans born on June 4, 2006, or earlier, can participate in early voting without registration. There are 44.39 million eligible voters.

Early voters should present their government-issued identification cards, such as resident registration cards, passports, driver’s licenses, national technical certificates or student cards for high school voters.

As in the digital era, state-issued identifications on mobile devices can be used to verify voters’ identities. However, screen capture images cannot be accepted. Digital ID holders must show the identification application operating on their devices.

Early voters would be required to scan their fingerprints or write their names to confirm their participation, a measure to prevent them from double voting on Election Day.

When and where can people vote?

Election workers set up an early voting polling station at Incheon International Airport on May 27. [NEWS1]

Unlike on Election Day, when voters must cast their ballots at designated sites, early voters can participate in the election from wherever they are — or in other words, any polling site, regardless of their registered address.

A total of 3,569 polling stations for early voting will be up and running across the country from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Thursday through Friday. They are mostly at community centers or public facilities in each district and town. Locations of nearby early voting stations are displayed on two major local navigation and map applications, Naver Map and KakaoMap, but not on Google Maps.

Those who vote early in their district should fold their ballot papers once and put them directly into the ballot boxes. Yet, those who participate in early voting outside their district should put their ballot papers into separate envelopes and seal them before dropping them into the boxes.

The Public Official Election Act stipulates that the National Election Commission (NEC) and its local branches run at least one early voting station in their jurisdiction for two days, starting five days before Election Day.

What's illegal?

An election worker inspects a polling booth that will be used for early voting later this week in Pohang, North Gyeongsang, on May 27. [NEWS1]

All voters must use a stamp prepared inside the booth. They should not use their own pens or pencils to mark their vote. The ballot will be counted as invalid when the stamp is marked outside the empty square boxes next to the candidates' names.

Taking a picture inside a polling booth and disclosing one’s ballot is illegal. According to the Public Official Election Act, anyone revealing their ballots can be imprisoned for up to two years or ordered to pay a fine of up to 4 million won ($2,910).

The Election Act also prohibits making loud noises and campaigning for specific candidates within a 100-meter radius (328 feet) of polling sites. Police and election workers can physically restrain those who cause disturbances.

How are ballots stored and counted?

A ballot paper for the June 3 presidential election is seen in the photo taken in Busan on May 25. The printing of the ballots began on May 25. [SONG BONG-GEUN]

To counter suspicions of election fraud — or conspiracy theories to that effect — the NEC will broadcast live footage of surveillance CCTVs installed in rooms that store ballots from early voting. Safety stickers will be attached to doors and walls to prevent people from entering the rooms before counting begins. Ballots cast outside voters' districts will be transported to their districts with police escorting the vehicles to the counting site.

Once the voting on June 3 concludes, machines will count the ballots first. Then, human workers will recount ballots to ensure no errors.

Acting President Lee Ju-ho said Monday that the government is “transparently disclosing the entire process of the presidential election from candidate registration to transportation of ballot drop boxes and counting.”

Wait, what if I miss early voting?

Those who miss early voting have one last chance to vote on actual Election Day on June 3, a public holiday.

Voters can cast their ballots at a designated polling station, which the NEC assigned according to residential addresses. They should bring their identification cards. The polling stations will remain open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

How did overseas voting go?

Overseas ballots for the presidential election arrive at Incheon International Airport on May 27, a week ahead of the Election Day. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

A total of 205,268 Korean nationals abroad participated in overseas voting held between May 20 and 25 at 223 polling stations in 118 countries around the world, the NEC announced on Monday.

Compared to 258,254 registered overseas voters, the turnout stood at 79.5 percent, a record high. Unlike voting in Korea, where eligible voters are automatically registered, overseas Koreans should register for voting in advance. In this election, the NEC estimated that around 1.9 million overseas Koreans were eligible to register for the presidential election.

By continent, 102,644 Korean nationals voted in overseas Asian countries, 56,779 in the Americas, 37,470 in Europe, 5,902 in the Middle East and 2,473 in Africa.

The ballots cast by overseas Koreans will be shipped to Korea in diplomatic bags by air. At Incheon International Airport, officials recommended by the PPP and DP will inspect the ballots. Those ballots will be counted together with the votes cast by domestic voters after the June 3 election.

In an appearance with local news broadcaster YTN, PPP Spokesperson Jung Kwang-jae said that liberal supporters abroad appeared to participate in the voting to pass judgment on the Yoon administration for declaring martial law, while conservative supporters seemingly cast their ballots based on their patriotism. "It seems that supporters from both sides are uniting," Jung said.

When did early voting start?

Conservative People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo, center, campaigns in Dobong District, northern Seoul, on May 26. [LIM HYUN-DONG]

Early voting began in the 2013 by-elections. The nationwide implementation occurred in the 2014 local election, with 4.7 million early voters from a pool of 41.2 million eligible voters, accounting for 11.5 percent.

Preferences for early voting grew over the years.

The early voter turnout in the 2017 presidential election was at 26 percent, with 11 million early voters. The figure rose to 36 percent or 16 million early voters in the following presidential election in 2022, the highest early voting turnout in Korean election history.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]