| A voter casts a ballot for the presidential election at a local polling station in Seoul, March 9. AP-Yonhap |
Voter turnout for the presidential election surpassed 60 percent as of 1 p.m. Wednesday, with the early voting tally incorporated, according to the country's election authorities.
Out of the total 44.2 million eligible voters nationwide, 27 million, or 61.2 percent, have cast their ballots at 14,464 polling stations since the voting started at 6 a.m., the National Election Commission (NEC) said.
The preliminary tally, which included the results of the two-day early voting, was higher than 55.5 percent reported at the same time in the previous presidential election in 2017.
By region, Seoul recorded 60.6 percent, the surrounding Gyeonggi Province saw 59.5 percent and the western port city of Incheon, 58.4 percent.
South Jeolla Province posted the highest rate of 70.7 percent, while the southeastern port city of Busan registered the lowest turnout at 58.2 percent.
More than 16 million, or 36.9 percent of the total, had already cast their ballots in the early voting Friday and Saturday. (Yonhap)