South Korea went to the polls on Wednesday to elect a new 300-member National Assembly (Parliament) ahead of December's presidential election that will choose a successor to incumbent Lee Myung-bak.
Voters flocked to polling stations from early morning in the tightly-contested general elections that could strip Lee's ruling party of its control of Parliament and set a crucial tone for December's presidential vote, the Yonhap news agency reported.
It is for the first time in 20 years that the two big elections take place in the same year.
The National Assembly consists of 246 directly contested seats and 56 proportional representation seats to be allocated to parties according to total votes they receive.
By 2.00 p.m., nearly 15 million people or 37.3 percent of the electorate had cast their ballots, according to the website of the National Election Commission.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.