Overseas voting for April 10 parliamentary elections kicks off in U.S.

South Korean voters in the United States began to cast ballots for next month’s parliamentary elections under an overseas voting program on Wednesday, as political parties at home are cranking up their campaigns for the polls seen as a public assessment on the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Overseas voting is set to run through Monday next week. Some 2,800 South Koreans are registered as voters in Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia — the four areas of responsibility for the South Korean Embassy in Washington.

Polling stations were set up in two locations — one in Alexandria, Virginia, and the other in Maryland.

Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Hyun-dong cast a vote in Alexandria on Wednesday morning, calling for eligible voters’ active participation in the elections.

According to the National Election Commission, a total of 147,989 South Koreans are eligible for overseas voting that takes place at 220 polling stations across 115 countries.

Rival parties’ official election campaigning kicked off at the beginning of Thursday (Korea time) for a 13-day run through the eve of Election Day on April 10. Up for grabs are 300 National Assembly seats — 254 directly contested seats and 46 proportional representation ones.