SOUTH KOREA: Absentee ballots cast ahead of presidential election

Record ID: 524000

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: Absentee ballots cast ahead of presidential election
  • Date: 13th December 2012
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (DECEMBER 13, 2012) (REUTERS) PEOPLE IN FRONT OF POLLING STATION SOLDIERS WAITING FOR AND GETTING INTO POLLING PLACE VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS GOING THROUGH SECURITY CHECKS BEFORE GETTING INTO VOTING BOOTH SOLDIER WALKING TOWARD VOTING BOOTH VARIOUS OF VOTERS IN VOTING BOOTH VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS PUTTING BALLOTS INTO BOX (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) 21-YEAR-OLD VOTER SOLDIER LEE MI-REU SAYING: "It is meaningful because this is my first time voting and I cast my ballot as a soldier." VARIOUS OF VOTERS PUTTING BALLOTS INTO BOX (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) 50-YEAR-OLD VOTER AHN HYON-SOOK SAYING: "Our economy is suffering now, so I wish the candidate I voted for could revive our economy." SOLDIERS GOING THROUGH SECURITY CHECKS BEFORE GETTING INTO VOTING BOOTH MORE OF POLLING PLACE POLLSTERS WORKING AT RESEARCH CENTRE OFFICE RESEARCH CENTRE "REAL METER" CEO LEE TAEK-SOO SPEAKING MAN LOOKING AT COMPUTER MONITORS MONITOR SHOWING PHONE LIST VARIOUS OF LEE AT HIS OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) CEO OF REALMETER LEE TAEK-SOO SAYING: "The gap between two major candidates was reduced from five percentage points to around three percentage points, so the upcoming six days of campaign are very important. It is the key point to see how much gap Moon can reduce. I think it will be a very close game, neck and neck. Whoever wins, the gap will be around one percent." LEE LOOKING AT COMPUTER MONITOR MONITOR SHOWING POLL RESULTS (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) CEO OF REALMETER LEE TAEK-SOO SAYING: "Supporter rates for the third-party candidates are very low, so this elections is the race between two candidates practically, unlike the other elections in the past. That's why the competition is very close." VARIOUS OF POLLSTERS WORKING TELEPHONE POLLSTER MAKING PHONE CALL MORE OF POLLSTERS WORKING
  • Embargoed: 28th December 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Korea, Republic of
  • Country: South Korea
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA21NQY73I1E5I56FMJX3VSE2CR
  • Story Text: South Korean soldiers, along with other absentee voters across the country, cast their ballots on Thursday (December 13) in Seoul ahead of the December 19 presidential election.
    The absentee voting will be carried out for more than 1 million voters on Thursday and Friday (December 14).
    A 21-year-old soldier cast his first vote in a presidential election.
    "It is meaningful because this is my first time voting and I cast my ballot as a soldier," Lee Mi-reu said.
    A civilian voter said the economy played a large part in voting for her pick as president.
    "Our economy is suffering now, so I wish the candidate I voted for could revive our economy," said 50-year-old Ahn Hyon-sook.
    The presidential race between conservative ruling Saenuri Party candidate Park Geun-hye and the left-wing main opposition Democratic United Party candidate Moon Jae-in has been neck and neck, even if Park has held a small but steady lead over Moon.
    "The gap between two major candidates was reduced from five percentage points to around three percentage points, so the upcoming six days of campaign are very important. It is the key point to see how much gap Moon can reduce. I think it will be a very close game, neck and neck. Whoever wins, the gap will be around one percent," said Lee Taek-soo, head of Realmeter, a public opinion survey company.
    Seoul's political watchers said on Thursday that Park maintained a narrow lead over Moon in the last nationwide polls.
    Seoul's Yonhap News agency said the 10 surveys taken from Sunday (December 9) to Wednesday showed Park's approval rating between 42.8 percent and 48.9 percent, compared to 41.2 percent to 47.5 percent for Moon.
    "Supporter rates for the third-party candidates are very low, so this elections is the race between two candidates practically, unlike the other elections in the past. That's why the competition is very close," said Lee.
    Experts say voters are split between the "pro-growth" generation that supports the ruling party and the "pro-distribution" generation that supports the opposition party.
    Like Moon, Park has promised greater "economic democracy" and better social welfare, although she has stressed that the big family-run businesses that dominate South Korea - the so-called chaebol - are essential to the country's success and its ability to create jobs.
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