Seoul, May 30 (AHN) Voters across the country headed to the polls Saturday on the second and last day of early voting for next week's nationwide local elections, which will decide the next mayors and governors of major local governments, including Seoul and Busan.

More than 6.86 million people, or 15.38 per cent, out of 44.6 million registered voters cast their ballots as of 11 a.m. after early voting began at 6 a.m. the previous day, according to the NEC.

The voter turnout was higher than the 13.65 per cent recorded at the same time on the second day of early voting for the 2022 local elections.

On social media, Lee urged voters to participate in voting, calling it the "lifeline" of democracy.

"Giving up voting is the same as giving up your and your family's future," he wrote on X. "Abstaining from voting is not being neutral but siding with those who harm your life and community."

Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung cast their early votes Friday at a community center near Cheong Wa Dae, Yonhap news agency reported.

Up for grabs are 16 mayoral and gubernatorial posts, along with 227 heads of local governments and some 4,000 members of local councils.

The upcoming elections are widely viewed as the first major nationwide vote for the Lee administration since it took office last June after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was ousted over his failed martial law bid.

Both the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) have been rallying voters to hit the polls, with recent polls suggesting that races are tightening in more regions than earlier expected.

The Seoul mayoral election has shaped up to be a fierce two-horse race between incumbent Oh Se-hoon of the PPP and ruling party candidate Chong Won-o.

A Hankook Research poll released Monday showed Chong leading with 42 per cent against Oh's 36 per cent.

In the southeastern city of Daegu, a traditional conservative stronghold, PPP candidate Choo Kyung-ho faces off with DP candidate Kim Boo-kyum in a tight race.

In a survey conducted Monday and Tuesday by Ace Research and commissioned by Daegu MBC, Choo led with 47.1 per cent, ahead of Kim at 45.7 per cent.

In the country's second-largest city of Busan, Chun Jae-soo of the DP was leading PPP candidate Park Heong-joon, the city's incumbent mayor seeking a third term, in multiple polls released this week.

Eyes are also on the parliamentary by-elections that will fill 14 vacant National Assembly seats, with political heavyweights, such as Han Dong-hoon, former leader of the PPP, vying for positions.

In Busan's Buk-A constituency, independent Han is competing against Ha Jung-woo, former presidential secretary for artificial intelligence (AI) policy and future planning, and former PPP lawmaker Park Min-shik.

In a poll released by the NEC last Thursday, 73.6 per cent of respondents said they will definitely vote in the upcoming elections. Of them, 39.4 percent said they intended to cast ballots during the early voting period.