2026 local elections in numbers

South Korea’s local elections on Wednesday stood out not only for their scale, but also for record figures that point to changing demographics, uneven competition and the sheer cost of running nationwide local polls.

Voters cast ballots to choose leaders across multiple levels of local government, including governors, mayors, education superintendents and local council members.

The number of foreign nationals eligible to vote in this year’s local elections reached a record 151,532, up 18.7 perce ...