SEOUL: South Koreans began turning out in record numbers for early voting on Thursday (May 29) in the country’s snap presidential polls set to take place next week, election commission data showed, as both of the leading candidates cast their ballots.
The Jun 3 election comes after months of political turmoil and a power vacuum following the botched attempt by former leader Yoon Suk Yeol to impose martial law.
The liberal Democratic Party’s candidate Lee Jae-myung, the frontrunner in the polls before a blackout period banning opinion polls began on Wednesday, cast his ballot in Seoul.
“In order to overcome the current crisis … and start again as a Korea of recovery and growth, please vote,” Lee said after casting his ballot at a university district in the city.
His comment came after the Bank of Korea cut interest rates on Thursday and slashed its 2025 growth forecast for Asia’s fourth-largest economy to 0.8 per cent from 1.5 per cent previously.
On Wednesday, Lee pledged to establish a new Ministry of Climate and Energy to “respond to the climate crisis”, and expand and reorganise the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to promote equal rights and deal with any reverse discrimination.
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