Voters cast their votes at the gymnasium of Gongdeok Elementary School in Mapo-gu, Seoul on the 1st, the 8th National Simultaneous Local Election Day. By Hong In-ki
On the 1st, the 8th National Simultaneous Local Election Day, people started to come to the polling stations in various places in Seoul from early morning to cast their votes. From grandmothers who came to the voting booth holding hands with grandchildren, to people with developmental disabilities, each cast a precious vote to select local workers to work for four years. However, the enthusiasm for voting fell short of the election four years ago.
Unlike early voting, the first and second rounds are conducted.
Voters who visited the polling place at the Jayang 2-dong Community Service Center in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul on the morning of this day finished voting within 5 minutes without waiting. A 33-year-old Lee, who had planned a trip to the suburbs of Seoul with her family, said, “It is important to go out, but I thought that exercising one vote came first, so I started looking at the polling place.” .
Unlike the early voting, this day’s voting was divided into 1st and 2nd rounds. In the first vote, regional group heads, basic group heads, and superintendent of education were elected, and in the second vote, regional councilors, basic members, proportional representatives, regional members, and proportional representatives were elected. Seo Hee-soon (48) said, “I thought the procedure would be complicated because there were so many ballot papers, but there were no major difficulties as I followed the instructions.”
Kang Su-mi (right) with developmental disabilities and her mother Jo Jung-hee leave the polling place after voting at the Jayang 2-dong Community Service Center in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. Reporter Kim Jae-hyun
Kang Su-mi, 24, with developmental disabilities, also exercised one vote. After listening to detailed explanations of her voting procedure according to the guide prepared by the National Election Commission, Kang successfully completed the first and second rounds of voting. The polling station said, “Thank you for voting,” to Mr. Kang, who was leaving her polling station.
A polling station official said, “If the degree of developmental disability is severe, you can vote in the presence of a family member, but Kang did not have any difficulties alone. Kang’s mother, Jo Jung-hee, said, “I hope that the voting environment will be better than it is now so that people with developmental disabilities can exercise their one vote like today.”
Cafés, car dealerships, badminton courts… Unique polling places are also eye-catching
Voters cast their votes at a polling station set up at an optical shop in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul on the 1st, the 8th National Simultaneous Local Election Day. yunhap news
The unique polling stations set up all over Seoul also drew attention. Places frequented by citizens, such as badminton courts in Hongje 3-dong, Seodaemun-gu, toy rental stores in Dohwa-dong, Mapo-gu, Kia Motors and Chevrolet dealerships in Gwangjin-gu, glasses stores in Hwayang-dong, and cafes in Guui-dong, etc.
Citizens who finished their votes at a unique polling place took pictures of the people around them as if curiously. Na-hee Jeong, 25, who lives in Gwangjin-gu, said, “She was surprised to see that the cafe she was looking for had been turned into a voting booth.”
The National Election Commission installs polling stations at local community centers, public offices, and schools, but also rents private facilities to increase accessibility and voter turnout. When a private facility is used as a voting place, a certain amount of compensation is paid to the facility.
Voters cast their precious votes at the 4th polling station in Guuije 2-dong, which was set up in a cafe in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 8th National Election Day. news
Corona infected people vote for one hour from 6:30
Voting fever today was not as hot as in the previous elections. At 1 pm, the turnout in Seoul was 38.5% (combined advance and raised votes), which was 2.8 percentage points lower than in the 7th local election four years ago. This is 22.6 percentage points lower than the 20th presidential election held in March. However, it is predicted that the final turnout will be higher than 4 years ago (60.2%), as the early turnout recorded 20.6%, a record high.
Voting for local elections on this day will be held until 6 p.m. at 14,465 polling places across the country. Those who are confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) can vote for one hour from 6:30 pm.
Jaehyun Kim reporter [email protected]
