Parties scramble to rally voters as early voting is almost here

Early voting will take place on Friday and Saturday at 3,565 polling stations nationwide from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Voters can cast their ballots at any polling station without having to register but must present certified personal identification.

A worker covers a surveillance camera installed near an early voting site at Incheon International Airport on Thursday. Early voting for the April 10 general election will take place from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday across 3,565 polling stations nationwide. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Early voting for the April 10 general election, which will decide the allocation of 300 parliamentary seats, begins Friday.

The two days of early voting will take place at 3,565 polling stations nationwide from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday.

Voters can cast their ballots at any polling station without having to register but must present certified personal identification, such as a passport or driver’s license.

As the early voting period neared, political parties on Thursday continued trying to win voters over and urged them to exercise their electoral rights.

People Power Party (PPP) interim leader Han Dong-hoon rallied supporters to participate in early voting, in anticipation of a close contest.

People Power Party interim leader Han Dong-hoon speaks in a press conference held at the party's headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul, to encourage supporters to vote during the early voting period slated for Friday through Saturday. [NEWS1]

“Please disregard those saying we will lose if we vote early or if we have a high turnout, and instead vote thinking that we will win if you vote and Korea triumphs if we vote,” Han said during a press conference held at the party’s headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul.

He cautioned against abstention from polling stations and said that support for “potential criminals” and “unabashed candidates” would precipitate the nation's downfall. Han’s remarks were aimed at opposition figures, including Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung and the chief of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party, Cho Kuk.

Han and 254 PPP candidates will cast their votes on Friday.

“Who would cast a ballot if even we abstain from voting due to concerns about early voting?” Han asked, stressing that votes will also be hand-counted to ease suspicions of electoral fraud during the early voting period.

The National Election Commission said it would reintroduce hand counting for the first time in 30 years to ease the public's suspicions of vote rigging. Candidate supporters have repeatedly raised claims of electoral fraud during the early voting period since its inception in April 2013, fearing the possibility of forged, lost or otherwise inaccurate ballots.

DP leader Lee Jae-myung on the same day also encouraged people to vote, whether through early voting or on election day, as he visited Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang.

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung speaks in an election campaign in Busan on Thursday, a day ahead of the early voting period for the April 10 general election. [YONHAP]

He said that poll results no longer hold any significance for swing districts like in Busan. “We will win if we vote and lose if we give up,” Lee said during his election campaign in the city.

On Thursday, the DP unveiled its own electoral projection, foreseeing victory in 110 districts and facing stiff competition in 50 constituencies.

The PPP said its polls show close contests in 55 districts, with outcomes hanging in the balance by a slim margin of 3 to 4 percentage points in such electoral regions.

A recent survey by the biweekly National Barometer Survey, jointly conducted by Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research and Hankook Research, showed greater public support for the PPP compared to the DP.

According to the survey, 39 percent of the 1,004 respondents aged 18 or older expressed support for the PPP. This marks a 5 percentage-point increase from two weeks prior. Support for the DP remained stagnant at 29 percent.

The survey, conducted from Monday through Wednesday, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points with a confidence interval of 95 percent.

However, a higher percentage of survey respondents signaled their intention to vote for DP candidates over PPP candidates in the upcoming April 10 general election — 39 percent for the DP and 37 percent for the PPP.

Over half of those surveyed, 53 percent, said they believe the DP would secure the majority of parliamentary seats, while 30 percent leaned toward the PPP.

In the same survey, President Yoon’s approval rating rose to 38 percent, up 2 percentage points compared to two weeks before. His disapproval ratings fell 1 percentage point to 55 percent.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]