Koreans Go to the Polls

Koreans nationwide vote Wednesday to elect mayors, provincial governors, councilmen, and education superintendents. Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. Each voter, except in Jeju, will be given no fewer than eight ballot sheets.

Voters will elect a total of 3,991 officials, including 16 metropolitan mayors, provincial governors and education superintendents each. A total of 13,388 polling stations will open across the nation. Voters must present a photo ID such as a residence registration card, driver's license or passport.

According to surveys, the ruling Grand National Party's mayoral and gubernatorial candidates are performing well in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and the Gyeongsang area except South Gyeongsang Province. Opposition Democratic Party candidates are doing well in the Jeolla provinces, while the arch-conservative Liberty Forward Party leads only in the Chungcheong provinces.

Ruling, opposition and independent candidates are in neck-and-neck races in six regions -- Incheon, Gangwon, North and South Chungcheong, South Gyeongsang, and Jeju. The final results are expected early Thursday morning.

Conservative candidates are pitted against progressives in elections of education superintendents in 16 cities and provinces. Results are hard to predict as there are some 40 percent floating voters.