South Koreans head to polls despite global pandemic

Temperature checks on voters, separate booths for those with fevers, and special polling times for the quarantined: South Koreans headed to the polls Wednesday with a big turnout expected despite the coronavirus threat.

South Korea is among the first countries with a major virus outbreak to hold a national election since the global pandemic began, and a raft of safety measures were in place around the ballot, as well as affecting the campaigns.

The parliamentary poll, widely expected to bolster the ruling Democratic party's position, kicked off at 6:00 amwith 43.9 million voters eligible to cast ballots.

Voters in obligatory masks lined up at least one metre (three feet) apart outside polling stations and had their temperatures checked before being allowed in.

All had to clean their hands with sanitiser and don plastic gloves, while those with fevers cast their ballots in separate booths that were disinfected after each use.

"It is done very well," said 80-year-old voter Kim Gwang-woo. "Because of the coronavirus, people are keeping their distance and everyone is wearing gloves."

South Korea was among the first countries to be hit by the disease outside China, where the coronavirus first emerged.

For a time, the country had the world's second-largest outbreak, before it was largely brought under control through widespread testing and a contact-tracing drive, along with widely observed social distancing.