Early voter turnout rate for 21st presidential election stands at 34.74%

Thank you for joining us. I'm Yoon Jung-min.

Early voting closed today, which took place for two days ahead of the 21st presidential election next Tuesday.

Many voters in the country headed to polling stations throughout the day.

The turnout hit over 34-percent, a little shy of the previous record.

Ahn Sung-jin has our top story.

One line became two, even three, folded with voters who'd queued up for early voting.

"From 6 AM to 6 PM on Thursday and Friday, more than 3,500 early voting stations nationwide, including this one in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, were open."

Starting from early morning until the last minute before the last day of early voting closed, people continued to show up to cast their ballots ahead of next Tuesday's presidential election.

"I came here with my son to explain about how elections work and that this many people are interested in voting."

"People nowadays say how living conditions are difficult, so I hope that the economy can be revitalized and that whichever candidate wins, they actually follow through with their election promises."

"As someone who is job-hunting, I hope there will be more support related to employment."

The first day of early voting saw a record high figure since 2014, when it first took place in national elections.

However, the total early voter turnout rate for this presidential election stood at 34-point-74 percent, 2-point-16 percentage points lower than the previous one, marking the second highest figure.

Jeollanam-do Province recorded the highest turnout at 56-point-5 percent, while Daegu the lowest at 25-point-63 percent.

The capital Seoul stood at 34-point-28 percent.

Voting for the 21st presidential election is scheduled for June 3rd, from 6 AM to 8 PM.

Voters must be over 18 and bring a government-issued ID.

Ahn Sung-jin, Arirang News.