Millions queue in masks for poll seen as referendum on handling of coronavirus

This article is more than 5 months old

This article is more than 5 months old

South Korea’s ruling party is expected to win a majority in the national assembly elections, which are being seen as a referendum on its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Millions of people wearing masks and standing at least one metre apart moved slowly between lines of duct tape at polling stations on Wednesday, in the first national elections to be held anywhere since the global outbreak began. Before casting their vote, they underwent a temperature check, sanitised their hands and put on disposable plastic gloves.

Election officials in masks escorted voters who failed the temperature check or who were not wearing a mask to separate polling booths, sanitising the facilities afterwards. About 13,000 people under self-quarantine because of the virus were allowed to vote immediately after the polls closed at 6pm local time (1000 BST) provided they had no symptoms.

The elections were held as fresh infections continued to fall. South Korea reported 27 new cases on Wednesday, the sixth day in a row they have stayed below 50, bringing the total to 10,591 with 222 deaths, according to the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

The president, Moon Jae-in, is expected to receive a boost amid widespread support for his response to the crisis. His administration’s focus on aggressive testing, tracking infected people, physical distancing and mask wearing have been credited with keeping the number of infections and deaths lower than in China, the US and parts of Europe.

Moon’s Democratic party of Korea and its smaller affiliate were projected to win between 155 and 178 seats in the 300-seat assembly, according to an exit poll by the public broadcaster KBS. The conservative opposition United Future party and its smaller sister party were forecast to win 107 to 130 seats.

An hour before the polls closed, turnout – including votes that had been cast early – had reached 62.6%, the highest since 2004.

Why is South Korea beating coronavirus? Its citizens hold the state to account | Tae Hoon Kim Read more

“We are going through difficult times, but the coronavirus and politics are two different things,” said a Seoul resident, Lee Kum. Another, Chung Eun-young, said she had arrived at the polling station just after it opened at 6am to avoid crowds.

“I was worried about the coronavirus,” Chung said. “They checked my temperature and handed me gloves, but it wasn’t as troublesome as I had expected. I don’t like what we are going through, but I cast my ballot to prevent the wrong candidates from getting elected.”

Before the outbreak, observers had expected Moon’s party to struggle, with job creation, wages and North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme dominating the political agenda.

But Moon’s response to the outbreak has led to his approval rating jumping from 41% in late January to 57%, according to Gallup polls.

Kim Ki-chul, 33, said the recent drop in the number of new Covid-19 cases had encouraged him to come out and vote.

“Compared to the way the epidemic has been handled in other countries, South Korea showed outstanding disinfecting and containment capabilities, and that has increased my trust in the government,” he said.