By Canadian Press

South Koreans begin early voting to replace ousted Park

May 4, 2017 | 5:45 AM

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — South Koreans began early voting Thursday in the election to replace ousted President Park Geun-hye.

Early voters can cast ballots Thursday and Friday at about 3,510 polling stations across the country before the election next Tuesday, the National Election Commission said in a statement.

It’s South Korea’s first presidential election with early voting after introducing it for parliamentary and mayoral elections in recent years, the statement said.

Pre-election surveys show liberal candidate Moon Jae-in comfortably leading his two main rivals — a centrist and a conservative.

The winner will be sworn in as the new president immediately, forgoing the usual two-month transition. Park’s impeachment and removal from office changed South Korea’s election schedule, so the new president will serve one full five-year term.

SOUND OFF

SOUND OFF: GAP - Summer 2026

14h ago

Question of the Week

DO YOU BELIEVE KAMLOOPS SHOULD RESTRICT ACCESS TO GREEN SPACES AMID ONGOING WILDFIRE AND DROUGHT CONDITIONS?

Aug 10, 2026

Looped In

LOOPED IN WITH NIKKI OMEN: August 10, 2026

Aug 10, 2026

Park is currently jailed at a detention centre near Seoul awaiting her trial on allegations that she extorted money from businesses, took kickbacks from some of those companies and committed other wrongdoing, all in collaboration with a longtime confidante. The trial is to formally start later this month.

A commission-run website showed about 4 million people had voted by midafternoon. South Korea has 42,479,710 eligible voters, according to the election commission.

The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Click here to report an error or typo in this article

South Koreans begin early voting to replace ousted Park

Our Community