[Politics, On That Day...] Highest Presidential Election Turnout Nationwide: Seongnam Bundang and Yongin Suji

2017 Presidential Election, Voter Turnout in Seoul Seocho Higher Than Gyeonggi Rural Areas
Top Turnout Rates in Urban Areas Rather Than Rural... A Shift from Past Presidential Elections

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min]

Editor's Note‘Politics, That Day…’ is a series planning corner that looks back on Korean politics through the ‘recollection of memories’ related to scenes, events, and figures that deserve attention.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The commonly accepted belief regarding ‘presidential election voter turnout’ is that rural areas have higher turnout rates than urban areas. In fact, regions such as Chungcheong, Honam, and Yeongnam had relatively higher turnout rates compared to the metropolitan areas like Seoul and Incheon. In Gyeonggi Province, the turnout rate was higher in county-level areas than in urban areas.

According to the National Election Commission, in the 13th presidential election in 1987, regions with voter turnout exceeding 90% were non-metropolitan areas such as Gangwon, Chungbuk, Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, and Gyeongbuk. The statistics continued to show that voter turnout in presidential elections was higher in rural areas than in cities, and higher in provinces than in metropolitan areas.

Based on these statistics, the belief surrounding presidential election turnout spread as common sense.

An interesting point is that the most recent presidential election on May 9, 2017, the 19th presidential election, showed a completely different result. While one might expect the highest turnout nationwide by city, county, or district to be in a county-level area in Yeongnam or Honam, the actual highest turnout was recorded in apartment-dense areas sensitive to real estate.

The protagonists were Bundang-gu in Seongnam City and Suji-gu in Yongin City, Gyeonggi Province, each showing a turnout rate of 83.9%, the highest among local governments. Bundang and Suji are areas densely populated with apartment complexes.

Bundang and Suji had turnout rates about 10 percentage points higher than Gyeonggi’s representative rural areas such as Yeoncheon County (73.7%), Yangpyeong County (74.7%), and Gapyeong County (72.7%).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Yeoncheon, Yangpyeong, and Gapyeong showed lower presidential election turnout rates than Dongjak-gu (80.8%) and Seocho-gu (80.8%) in Seoul.

What about turnout rates when looking at county-level and urban areas?

In Jeonnam, the highest turnout was recorded in Suncheon City at 81.1%. Meanwhile, rural fishing villages such as Yeonggwang County (76.6%) and Sinan County (75.6%) had relatively lower turnout rates.

A similar phenomenon appeared in Gyeongnam. The highest turnout in Gyeongnam was in Seongsan-gu, Changwon City, with a nationwide top-level turnout of 83.5%. Goseong County, classified as a rural fishing area in Gyeongnam, had a turnout rate of 73.0%, about 10 percentage points lower than Changwon Seongsan.

Even when looking at provincial-level regions, urban areas occupied the top ranks in turnout, while rural fishing areas showed relatively lower presidential election turnout rates.

How should we interpret the fact that the highest turnout nationwide is in apartment-dense areas of Gyeonggi Province, and that urban areas have relatively higher turnout rates even within regions?

First, it is necessary to note that the trend in presidential election turnout is changing. The high turnout in apartment-dense areas is something that both ruling and opposition parties should analyze. It means that a tailored strategy is needed, moving away from traditional concepts of presidential election strategies.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The relatively high turnout in urban areas is also related to accessibility issues concerning election participation. Urban residents are more likely to have polling stations near where they live. If they have the will, they can participate in voting easily.

On the other hand, residents in rural, fishing, or remote island areas need a more proactive will to participate in voting. This is because they must use transportation such as vehicles to reach polling stations far from their residences.

The activation of early voting is also a variable affecting presidential election turnout. Voting participation is possible not only on election day but also on early voting days. Office workers can participate in early voting at polling stations near their workplaces. The early voting rate in the last presidential election reached 26.06%.

What will the voter turnout be for the 20th presidential election scheduled for March 9? According to polls, 80-90% of respondents say they will actively participate, but whether the actual turnout will exceed 80% is questionable.

Since 2000, the voter turnout in presidential elections has never exceeded 80%. Regional turnout rates are variables that determine the outcome of presidential elections. Ultimately, the presidential election is a competition over which candidate’s supporters come out to vote more.

Which region will have the highest turnout nationwide in this election? Will the strong turnout in metropolitan apartment-dense areas continue this time as well? Whether Bundang and Suji will maintain their top-tier turnout in this election is also a point to watch.

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