Early voting for presidential election begins at 3,500 polling stations

SEOUL, May 4 (Yonhap) -- Hundreds of thousands of South Korean voters were expected to cast their ballots in the presidential election this week as early voting began Thursday at over 3,500 polling stations throughout the country. The two-day voting period began at 6 a.m. and will close at 6 p.m. Friday with a 12-hour overnight break, according to the National Election Commission (NEC). It marked the first early voting for a presidential election as the system was introduced in 2014 as a way of boosting voter turnout. Unlike absentee voting that only allows those likely to be absent on election day to vote in advance, early voting allows any eligible voter to do so regardless of reason. In the 2014 local elections, 11.5 percent of all voters or 20.2 percent of those who actually cast their ballots did so during the early voting period. The ratio increased to 21 percent of all votes cast in the National Assembly elections held last year, according to the NEC. To help further boost voter turnout, the election commission said it has also set up polling booths at major ports, including the Incheon International Airport and Seoul's major train stations, in anticipation of people going away on trips over the three-day weekend created by Children's Day that falls on Friday. Over 42.4 million people will be eligible to cast ballots in the upcoming election, marking the largest number of voters in the country's history, the NEC noted earlier. Absentee voting for people with disabilities and those away from the country aboard ships has been held since Monday and was set to end later Thursday. A six-day voting period for voters staying overseas was held late last month. All votes cast in advance will be kept sealed with those locked overseas to be brought here for official counting following the end of the presidential election on Tuesday, the NEC has said. The upcoming election marks a rare presidential by-election caused by the March 10 ouster of former President Park Geun-hye over corruption allegations that have also led to her arrest and formal indictment. With the top executive office currently vacant, the single five-year term of the next president will begin immediately following his or her election. Currently, 13 hopefuls are vying for the presidential office after two candidates dropped out of the race. The latest poll on the presidential election published Wednesday showed Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic Party in the lead with 42.4 percent, followed by two runner-ups -- Ahn Cheol-soo of the center-left People's Party and Hong Joon-pyo of the former ruling Liberty Korea Party -- who were tied at 18.6 percent. The other major candidates included Sim Sang-jeung of the progressive Justice Party, who in the latest poll stood in fourth place with 7.3 percent, and Yoo Seong-min of the splinter conservative Bareun Party with 4.9 percent. bdk@yna.co.kr (END)