The absentee voting of the 5^th Nationwide Local Elections carried out from 10 am to 4 pm on May 27 and 28, 2010. The total number of eligible absentee voters was 932,001 which are 2.4% of the total number of eligible voters (38,861,788). The numbers of eligible voters voting at absentee polling station and voting by mail were 809,982 and 122,019, respectively. People working for election management, police and military charged about 75% of the total number of eligible absentee voters. The NEC established 522 absentee polling stations on a national scale: 413 polling stations within election commissions and Gu/Si/Gun government offices and 109 polling stations within institutions and facilities such as hospital, prison, rest home etc.

Anyone who is eligible to enter in voters list and lives in Korea is able to apply for absentee voting, if he or she cannot vote on Election Day. Together with absentee voting at polling stations, mail-in voting is available in the following conditions: people with difficulties to move due to staying in hospital, rest home etc. for a long time and having physical handicaps, people living in remote areas where polling stations are not able to established or the polling place is far from the area such as islands and police officers and soldiers who are working far away from absentee polling stations. 

Absentee voters who received ballot papers via postal can vote at any absentee polling station regardless of their election precincts. In case of the mail-in voting, the marked ballot papers should be sent to voters’ district election commissions via postal by 6 pm on June 2, 2010. Although absentee voters voting by mail are allowed to mark with pen, absentee voters voting at polling station should use marking device provided in the polling place. Meanwhile, absentee voters who received ballot papers by postal but did not vote during the absentee voting period are allowed to vote on the Election Day at their precincts after returning the received ballot papers and stamped addressed envelope (S.A.E.) thanks to the amended Public Official Election Act since January, 2010.