(3rd LD) Voters hit polls in parliamentary elections with higher turnout than before

South Koreans went to the polls Wednesday in crucial parliamentary elections that are seen as a referendum on President Yoon Suk Yeol amid expectations that voter turnout could be the highest in 32 years. As of 4 p.m., some 27.4 million, or 61.8 percent, of the total 44.28 million eligible voters had cast their ballots, 10 hours after voting began at 14,259 polling stations across the nation, according to the National Election Commission (NEC). The turnout, which included part of the record 31.28 percent turnout in last week's early voting, was 2.1 percentage points higher than at the same time in the previous elections four years ago. The voting was set to run until 6 p.m. "The final turnout is likely to be slightly higher than four years ago," an NEC official said. The turnout for the parliamentary elections in 2020 stood at 66.2 percent. If the final turnout surpasses that of the 2020 elections, it would be the highest in 32 years since 71.9 percent for the parliamentary elections in 1992. With 300 N ational Assembly seats up for grabs, the elections could determine whether President Yoon will fall into a lame duck situation or be able to move his agenda forward with legislative support during the remaining three years in office. Widespread expectations are that the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) would win more seats than the ruling People Power Party (PPP), with some even talking about the possibility of the broader opposition bloc taking more than 200 seats combined. The quadrennial race carries extra weight for the ruling party as a failure to regain a majority could potentially render the Yoon administration a lame duck for the remaining three years of his single five-year term, ending in 2027. The PPP has pleaded for voter support, saying the Yoon administration has been unable to push its reform agenda properly forward for the past two years due to the uncooperative parliament under opposition control. "Please encourage voters to cast their ballots by using all your strength," PPP leader Han Dong-hoon said in a message to the ruling party's election candidates. "A neck-and-neck race has played out in many constituencies so that an election victory could hinge on just hundreds of votes," he said. The DP, on the other hand, has urged voters to pass stern judgment on what it calls the "incompetent" Yoon administration, accusing it of causing the economy and the livelihoods of the people to worsen seriously and mishandling a series of controversial issues for the past two years. Many surveys taken before the blackout period, which began Thursday, have shown that DP candidates were ahead of their PPP counterparts in many districts, including even in some PPP stronghold regions in the country's southeast, albeit within the margins of error. What is also notable was the surprisingly high support that the Rebuilding Korea Party, newly launched by scandal-tainted former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, has garnered with calls for bringing an early end to the Yoon administration. That could suggest the c alls for passing judgment on the Yoon administration are getting through. "An election victory will be decided by how much you would encourage voting. Please ask all of your acquaintances to vote right now," DP leader Lee Jae-myung wrote on his Facebook page. Should the broader opposition bloc win more than 200 seats in the 300-member National Assembly, it would give opposition parties a two-thirds majority strong enough to override presidential vetoes and even to impeach the president. But some observers say the DP cannot anticipate a comfortable landslide victory because what the media has dubbed "shy" conservative voters can turn out in large numbers to cast their ballots, prodded by a sense of urgency. Observers highlight the 48 constituencies in Seoul as the primary battlegrounds that will ultimately determine the election outcome, as data suggests that results in Seoul often mirror the overall election results. Another focus of attention is also on how the newly created minor parties would fare, su ch as the Rebuilding Korea Party led by Cho; the New Future Party (Saemirae), formed by former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon; and the New Reform Party led by ousted former PPP leader Lee Jun-seok. Exit polls will be available starting at 6:30 p.m. Source: Yonhap News Agency