투표장으로 향한 '자가격리자'...일반 투표 마감 이후 오후 6시부터 주권 행사
Over 35-hundred polling stations across the nation closed just minutes ago - one hour after the usual closing time of 6PM for those under self-quarantine due to COVID-19.
Our election team is covering all of the action at polling booths and counting centers throughout the nation.
Our correspondents in the field... let's check in with some of them.
First, Kan Hyeong-woo at a polling station in Seoul's Jongno District.
It's a highly symbolic electorate in Korean politics.
Hyeong-woo, some critics feared it would be chaos. How did South Korea hold elections today?
Connyoung, it wasn't chaotic at all. Rather, everything went quite smoothly.
As you just said, the voting period for this year's general election officially wrapped up at 7 PM.
About an hour ago, four self-quarantined voters came to this polling station here in Seoul's central Jongno-gu District.
They were accompanied by health officials in full protective gear and used a separate voting booth set up outside the building.
After each person cast their vote,...the health officials disinfected the booth.
The election authorities made it possible for the 60-thousand people in self-quarantine to be able to cast their votes.
According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety,... around 23 percent some 13-thousand people applied to take part.
Here are the rules:
Quarantine was temporarily lifted from 5:20 PM to 7 PM.
Only then could those in self-quarantine head straight to polling stations on foot or in their own cars.
Their voting period was from 6 to 7 PM after all other voters were finished.
For those who were not accompanied by government officials, they were tracked through a mobile app.
And of course, they had to wear masks and gloves.
Voting was unlike any other for the average Koreans, as well.
There were measures taken to allow this National Assembly election to take place as scheduled during the COVID-19 pandemic, weren't there?
Voters who were not in self-isolation cast their ballots from 6 AM to 6 PM today.
Because the coronavirus outbreak is still lingering in South Korea,...the National Election Commission implemented a number of preventive measures.
Voters had to bring their ID cards, of course, but they also had to wear a protective face mask when they came to a polling station.
At the entrance, they got their temperatures taken.
If they didn't have a fever or a cough, they had to disinfect their hands with sanitizer and put on disposable plastic gloves both of which were provided by the polling station.
Voters were also required to stand at least one meter apart from one another.
I asked some people how they felt about voting in these conditions.
"It's my first time voting like this. But I feel clean. I think a lot of people like it this way and I hope they continue to do it like this."
"I think it's a good idea to carry on with the election. It looks like everything is going well as people are wearing masks, gloves and keeping the
