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The Park Geun-hye adminstration faces its first litmus test today as Koreans in 12 electoral
districts nationwide head to the polls,.. to elect three new lawmakers and nine local
governors.
Competition is especially fierce in Seoul's Nowon-C district,.. where former presidential
candidate Ahn Cheol-soo is up against the ruling Saenuri Party's Huh Joon-young,.. a
former diplomat and police chief.
For more details, let's connect live to our Park Ji-won , who's standing by at a polling
station in Nowon.
Hello, Jiwon
Good morning, You-sun
Five candidates are running to become a National Assembly lawmaker representing this constituency
in northern Seoul.
Voting started around four hours ago... at 6 a.m. Korea time,... at this elementary school
turned into a polling station.
Nowon is attracting the most media attention because former presidential candidate Ahn
Cheol-soo,.. is running as an independent candidate.
Ahn's toughest opponent comes in the shape of the ruling Saenuri Party candidate, Huh
Joon-young.
According to the latest figures released by the National Election Commission,.. voter
turnout stands at 7-point-1 percent,.. as of 9 a.m.
That's the latest figure we have.
This is a slightly lower voter turnout than the last previous parliamentary election held
here last April.
However, that may be because almost nine percent of voters in this district already cast their
ballot in early voting.... a system that was first adopted for this by-election.
Ji-won, what is happening in the other two constituencies up for grabs?
Yes, as you say there are two other constituencies voting for two other vacant seats in the National
Assembly.
In the Yeongdo constituency in the southern port city of Busan,.. the Saenuri Party's
Kim Moo-sung is up against the Democratic United Party's Kim Bi-o.
In the Buyeo-Cheongyang constituency of South Chungcheong Province,.. the Saenuri Party's
Lee Wan-gu,.. the former governor of the region,.. is going toe-to-toe with Hwang In-suk.
The latest voter turnout at both constituencies is about five percent and 8-point-6 respectively,,,
as of 9 a.m.
Polling stations will remain open until 8 p.m... and I will bring up another update
at noon, Korea time.
Back to you. You-sun.
Thanks for the report, Ji-won.
That was our Park Ji-won reporting live from a polling station in Seoul's Nowon-C district.