Voters in Gwangju, South Jeolla to cast up to 7 ballots in Wednesday's local elections

"June 3 is the day to choose the people who will work for our communities."

Voters in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province will receive up to seven ballots to elect 441 officials, including the inaugural mayor of the newly merged Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, a superintendent of education, district chiefs and local council members.

Unlike early voting, Wednesday's main election requires voters to cast their ballots only at the designated polling station listed on their resident registration address. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and voters must bring a photo ID bearing their date of birth issued by a government office or public institution.

Accepted forms of identification include a resident registration card, driver's license and passport, as well as the increasingly common mobile resident registration card and mobile driver's license.

Voters in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province will receive up to seven ballots. Previously, Gwangju residents voted separately for a city mayor and an education superintendent, while South Jeolla Province residents voted for a provincial governor and a separate education superintendent. This time, voters from both areas will cast a single ballot for the mayor and education superintendent of the merged Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City.

The remaining five ballots cover the district chief, constituency metropolitan council member, constituency basic council member, proportional metropolitan council member and proportional basic council member. In the Gwangsan-eul constituency, a National Assembly by-election is being held concurrently, giving those voters eight ballots in total.

Voting proceeds in two rounds. Voters first receive three ballots — for the special metropolitan city mayor, education superintendent and district chief — mark them and deposit them in the ballot box. They then receive four more ballots for metropolitan and basic council members, including proportional seats.

Voters in Gwangsan-eul will receive an additional ballot for the National Assembly by-election in the first round.

Based on the National Election Commission's final candidate registration tally, 80 candidates in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province have been elected without a contest — 17 more than the 63 uncontested winners four years ago. In Gwangju, Kim Yi-gang, the sole candidate for Seo-gu district chief, and Kim Byeong-nae, the sole candidate for Nam-gu district chief, were confirmed elected without a vote.

Thirty-four metropolitan council constituencies — five in Gwangju and 29 in South Jeolla Province — also produced uncontested winners, as did 20 constituency-level basic council seats.