SEOUL, March 4 (Xinhua) -- An early voting for South Korea's presidential election kicked off Friday ahead of the election day on March 9.

The early voting, which was adopted in 2013 and first applied to the 2014 local elections, will be carried out for two days through Saturday.

Over 44 million eligible voters, who wish to cast ballots before the election day, will be allowed to vote at 3,552 polling stations across the country from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time.

As of 1:00 p.m., the early voting turnout was a highest 8.75 percent, surpassing the previous record high of 5.98 percent for the parliamentary election in April 2020.

It was also compared with the previous presidential election's early voting turnout of 5.8 percent for the same time.

COVID-19 patients and those in quarantine will be allowed to cast ballots if they arrive at polling stations between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Saturday.