Election Turnout Could Set Record Low

Parliamentary by-elections were held in four constituencies – Seongbuk-eul and Songpa-gap in Seoul, Bucheon Sosa in Gyeonggi Province and Masan-gap in South Gyeongsang Province – yesterday, and ballot counting began after the voting finished at 8:00 p.m.

With 15 candidates running in the four constituencies, the competition rate was 3.75 to 1 on average.

According to the National Election Commission, the average voter turnout was 19.4 percent, as of 5:00 p.m. that day.

The turnout is about four percentage points lower than that of the by-elections held on April 24, 2003, which showed the lowest turnout among parliamentary elections (23.7 percent). The final voter turnout for the April 24 by-elections stood at 26.0 percent.

Seongbuk-eul showed the highest turnout (23.7 percent) among the four constituencies, with Choi Soo-young of the Grand National Party fiercely competing with Chough Soon-hyung of the Democratic Party. The interim voter turnout of Songpa-gap, Bucheon Sosa, and Masan-gap was 13.9 percent, 17.9 percent, and 21.3 percent, respectively.

Experts say that the outcome of the by-elections will affect the politics in the run-up to the presidential election and the internal dynamics of each political party.

Yong-Gwan Jung Kang-Myoung Chang yongari@donga.com tesomiom@donga.com