Geumjeong-gu, Busan, where both ruling and opposition parties are paying attention...What's the situation at the polling place?

[Anchor]
In Geumjeong-gu, Busan, the biggest area of interest in the by-elections, a bilateral competition between the ruling and opposition candidates is taking place.

It is considered a battleground where it is difficult to predict the results, and we will connect the reporters at the polling station to find out the voting status. The car is a reporter!

[Reporter]
It's at the polling station of the Busan Geumjeong-gu Office.

[Anchor]
The election was so hot that it was called a proxy war between the representatives of the ruling and opposition parties, so how is the situation at the polling place?

[Reporter]
Voting is going smoothly at 59 polling stations.

Now, it is somewhat quiet, and it is expected that voters will continue to use their lunch time to vote.

More than 195,500 voters in Geumjeong-gu, 39,000 of whom voted in advance, recording an early turnout of 20.63%.

It is similar to the pre-voting rate for the Busan mayoral by-election in 2021 and the local election in 2022.

However, as of 11 p.m. today, excluding early voting, turnout was 9.6%, about 2%p lower than the most recent by-election.

The election to select the head of Busan's Geumjeong-gu District Office was held in June when Kim Jae-yoon, the former head of the district, died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

It is a two-way race between Kim Kyung-ji of the Democratic Party of Korea and Yoon Il-hyun of the People's Power.

The two candidates met with residents late last night, the last day of their official campaign, and appealed for support.

The power of the people focused on winning public sentiment by citing the strength of the ruling party that can solve regional issues,
The
Democratic Party emphasized the regime judgment theory and showed its will to win Geumjeong, a traditional conservative strong area.

With a close race expected to be difficult to determine victory or defeat, the results of the vote are expected to come out before midnight.

So far, I am Cha Sang-eun from YTN at the polling station of Geumjeong-gu Office in Busan.