Voter turnout surpasses 70 pc in South Korea's presidential election

Seoul, June 3 Voter turnout for South Korea's presidential election has surpassed the 70 per cent mark, 10 hours after voting began earlier Tuesday, the election watchdog said.

Of the total 44.39 million eligible voters nationwide, 31.73 million, or 71.5 per cent, had cast their ballots as of 4 p.m. (local time), according to the National Election Commission (NEC). Voting began at 6 a.m. at 14,295 polling stations across the country and will run through 8 p.m.

The provisional tally includes the votes cast in early voting, as well as overseas, shipboard and absentee ballots, reports Yonhap news agency.

The turnout was the highest recorded at the said time of day in any presidential election.

More than 15.42 million, or 34.74 per cent of the registered voters, had cast their ballots in the early voting held on Thursday and Friday.

The election takes place exactly six months after Yoon declared martial law in a surprise announcement that evoked dark memories of past military regimes and plunged the nation into the worst economic and political crisis in decades.

The country is set to pick a new president, with a liberal candidate bent on punishing the forces responsible for former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law attempt against a conservative keen on stopping the recklessness of his rival.

Both Lee and Kim have made economic growth their No. 1 campaign promise, with an emphasis on nurturing the artificial intelligence industry.

Lee and Kim agree on the need to revise the Constitution to replace the current single five-year presidential term with a four-year, two-term system.

Kim has pledged to cut short his own term to three years to align the president's term with those of National Assembly members beginning in 2028.

Lee, however, has called for holding a referendum on amendments to the Constitution and applying the changes starting in 2030.

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