The government will mobilize some 70-thousand police officers across the nation on Wednesday to help ensure a fair presidential election is held. 

The plan was announced during a vice-ministerial meeting on Monday presided over by Koo Yun-cheol, head of the government policy coordination office, to discuss measures for a safe and fair election that is to take place two days later. 

According to the officials, police personnel will be assigned to oversee the safe transport of ballot boxes to be collected from polling stations nationwide and other tasks as needed. 

Compared to the previous presidential election in 2017, however, about 14-thousand fewer police officers will be dispatched to the task. The police said the decline reflects a drop in the number of auxiliary police manpower in the past five years.