"Voted and Saw the President" Resident of Samcheong-dong Who Met Moon [Interview]

Samcheong-dong Resident Meets President Moon at Early Voting Station
Blue House Officials Agree to Photo Request
Resident: "Happy to See the President Since Morning"

At around 9 a.m. on the 10th, President Moon Jae-in visited the early voting station for the 21st general election set up at the Samcheong-dong Community Center near the Blue House. Photo by Han Seung-gon, provided by a reader hsg@asiae.co.kr

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] On the 10th, as early voting for the April 15 National Assembly election began, a resident's eyewitness account claiming to have actually seen President Moon Jae-in at a polling station was posted on an online community, drawing attention.

In particular, since it was early voting day, residents reportedly did not expect President Moon to appear at the polling station at all. Residents who encountered President Moon expressed surprise but also said they felt good.

President Moon and First Lady Kim Jung-sook visited the early voting station set up at the Samcheong-dong Community Center near the Blue House around 9 a.m. that day.

The president and first lady, wearing masks, had their temperatures checked with a contactless thermometer at the entrance of the polling station, disinfected their hands with sanitizer, and then put on sanitary gloves. They then entered the polling station and cast their votes.

To encourage voting, senior Blue House aides including Chief Presidential Secretary Noh Young-min, Policy Chief Kim Sang-jo, and Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Kang Ki-jung also visited the early voting site.

This is the first time a sitting president has participated in early voting since the early voting system was introduced during the by-elections in the first half of 2013.

Around 9 a.m. on the 10th, President Moon and his wife finished voting in the 21st general election at the early voting station set up at the Samcheong-dong Community Center near the Blue House. Photo by Reader Provided · Seunggon Han hsg@asiae.co.kr

A resident who said they saw President Moon in person at the polling station that day reported that Blue House officials showed a friendly attitude by allowing photos to be taken.

A man in his early 40s, Mr. A, who said he has been self-employed in Samcheong-dong for 20 years, told Asia Economy in an interview, "Since I am a local resident and have seen him several times before, when I saw President Moon, I thought, 'Ah, it's the president.' I felt good to see the president in person from the morning." He added, "I wanted to take some photos, and the security guards allowed me to take pictures."

In the photos Mr. A shared, President Moon is seen clasping his hands together as he heads toward the Samcheong-dong Community Center where the polling station was set up.

Another photo shows First Lady Kim Jung-sook leaving first via the stairs after voting. Behind her is President Moon, followed by Blue House security guards exiting the polling station.

Around 9 a.m. on the 10th, President Moon and his wife finished voting in the 21st general election at the early voting station set up at the Samcheong-dong Community Center near the Blue House. Photo by Reader Provided · Seunggon Han hsg@asiae.co.kr

Netizens who saw the photos commented, "You must have felt good. Should I buy a lottery ticket today?" and "Ah, I should have gone there too, it's such a shame."

Previously, President Moon and the First Lady also encouraged voting through early voting during the June 13, 2018 local elections and National Assembly by-elections.

On April 8, 2016, the first day of early voting for the 20th National Assembly election, President Moon cast his early vote at Buk-gu Office in Gwangju while campaigning as the former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.

Meanwhile, as of 10 a.m. on the 10th, when early voting for the April 15 general election began, the turnout rate was recorded at 2.52%. The National Election Commission announced that out of a total of 43,994,247 registered voters, 1,110,110 had voted since early voting started at 6 a.m. that day.

More than 1.1 million people participated in the election within just four hours of early voting starting, marking the highest turnout rate ever recorded.

In the most recent nationwide election, the June 2018 local elections, the turnout rate at the same time on the first day was 2.04%. During the 2017 presidential election and the 2016 general election, the rates were 2.38% and 1.18%, respectively.

By region, as of 10 a.m., Jeonnam showed the highest early voting rate at 4.31%, followed by Jeonbuk at 4.01%, Gwangju at 3.18%, and Gangwon at 3.04%. The lowest turnout was in Daegu, at 1.91%.

Locations of early voting stations can be checked on the National Election Commission website or by calling the main phone number (1390).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.