Early Voting for 19th Presidential Election Under Way

Anchor: Early voting to elect the next South Korean president is under way at over three-thousand polling booths across the country. More people are assessed to be taking part in the two-day early voting compared to last year’s general elections.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.
 
Report: Early voting for the 19th presidential election began on Thursday morning.
 
Officials set up three-thousand-507 polling booths across the country for the early voting. During the two-day period, eligible voters can cast their ballots between 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. at any polling station. They must bring a valid ID, including resident registration, driver’s license or passport.
 
Polling stations have also been set up in major train stations, including Seoul Station and in airports to enable travelers to cast ballots.
 
The booth installed in Incheon International Airport drew huge crowds on Thursday as the early voting period overlapped with the “golden holiday.” People were able to cast ballots after standing in line for roughly half an hour.
 
Meanwhile, presidential hopefuls delivered speeches and shook hands with voters around polling booths in last-minute attempts to gain support.
 
In particular, thanks to eased regulations, voters are allowed to post photographs demonstrating the number of the candidate they voted for on SNS.
 
The National Election Commission has forecast that the voter turnout for the early voting will stand at around 15 percent. That's higher than 12-point-two percent for last year's general elections and eleven-point-five percent for the 2014 local elections. 
 
The votes cast on Thursday and Friday will be counted on the day of the elections next Tuesday.
 
Information on the location of polling stations can be found on the National Election Commission’s Web site or by dialing 1390.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.