Five days before parliamentary elections in South Korea and in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, many in the country are taking advantage of the opportunity to vote early.
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President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook handed in their ballots on Friday at one of the 3,508 polling sites set up to allow people to vote in advance of Wednesday's elections for the 300-seat National Assembly.
By late afternoon turnout was near 11 per cent, the highest since the early voting system was introduced in 2013, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing electoral authorities.
South Koreans can also cast ballots on Saturday.
The strong turnout was attributed to voters - clad in face masks and gloves - looking to avoid the crowds on the actual election day amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The number of new daily infections recorded fell below 30 for the first time since February, with only 27 reported on Thursday. The total number now stands at 10,450.
South Korea's leadership has been praised for containing Covid-19's spread as other leading democracies in the region and farther afield flailed.
Polls suggest that Moon and his governing Democratic Party are set to ride a wave of goodwill to success in the National Assembly elections, although the margin of victory after seats are apportioned could be narrow.
Australian Associated Press
