Voter turnout in South Korea’s parliamentary election stood at 37.9 percent as of 1 p.m., eight hours after polls opened Friday, according to the National Election Commission.

In the last general election, the voter turnout recorded 32.4 percent as of 1 p.m.

The country saw the highest voter turnout in South Jeolla Province at 46.6 percent, while Daegu recorded the lowest turnout of 33.8 percent. Seoul's turnout was 37.2 percent.

Some 42.1 million voters are casting ballots at nearly 14,000 polling stations to elect 253 of 300 lawmakers. The remaining 47 proportional representation seats are allocated to parties according to the total number of votes they receive.

The voters are given two votes to pick a contested candidate and a proportional seat, respectively.

The voter turnout in the general election is estimated to be higher than in previous elections, with early voting hitting a record high of 12.2 percent.

The poll will close at 6 p.m.

(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)