South Korea Election: Early Voting Hits Record as Covid Surges

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's two days of early voting drew record numbers even as the country battled its worst wave of coronavirus infections, with polling stations stepping up public health protections as people flocked to cast ballots.

More than 16 million people, accounting for almost 37% of the total electorate, took part in early voting that run through Saturday, according South Korea's National Election Commission. The figure was 11 percentage points higher than the last election five years ago.

With election day on Wednesday, conservative Yoon Suk-yeol of the People Power Party appeared to be slightly ahead in what is shaping up to be the tightest presidential election since the country's advent to full democracy about 35 years ago.

Yoon, of the main opposition People Power Party, and progressive Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party were on national tours at the weekend, and both sharply criticized their rivals. The two are vying to replace progressive President Moon Jae-in for the single, five-year term.

North Korea Fires Suspected Missile Days Before South's Vote (3)

Meanwhile, North Korea reminded its neighbor of its persistent security threat, firing off a suspected ballistic missile on Saturday that the state's official Korean Central News Agency said was for a “reconnaissance satellite test.” During Moon's time in office, Kim Jong Un's regime modernized its missile arsenal, test-firing dozens of new rockets designed to strike all of South Korea.

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Countdown:

Three days to go before the March 9 election day. The winner of the single-round, nationwide poll becomes the next president and will serve one five-year term. The new leader will be sworn in on May 10 and replaces incumbent Moon.

Candidates:

Lee Jae-myung, 57, of Moon's Democratic Party and a former governor of Gyeonggi, the country's most populous province
Yoon Suk-yeol, 61, of the conservative People Power Party and a former prosecutor general
Sim Sang-jung, a minor candidate with the Justice Party who also ran unsuccessfully for president in 2017

Key stories and developments:

North Korea Holds ‘Satellite' Test as South's Election Nears
Samsung Suspends Shipments of Phones, Chips to Russia (1)
North Korea Fires Suspected Missile Days Before South's Vote
Retail Stock Traders Become Key Voting Bloc in S.Korea's Election
South Korea's Inflation Accelerates Ahead of Presidential Vote

Media roundup:

Polls:

Polls have offered varying assessments of who is leading, with the final one showing both Lee and Yoon were in the 40% range, with Yoon slightly ahead. No new polling is allowed to be published from after Thursday until voting ends on election day.

Yoon's chances of winning the election received a boost when Ahn Cheol-soo, a minor conservative candidate, suspended his campaign and offered Yoon support. Most polls taken just before that happened showed the move, which unified the conservative candidates, would push Yoon ahead by a few percentage points in a hypothetical two-way race with Lee.

Another factor that may benefit Yoon is that about 54% of voters want a change of power from the progressives, according a survey by Korea Information Research released last Wednesday. The poll also said only 37.4% wanted Moon's Democratic Party to stay in the presidential Blue House.