Early voting begins for South Korean presidential election | Agencia EFE

Early voting for next week's South Korean presidential election began at 3,552 polling stations on Friday with the two main contenders neck-to-neck in the polls.

The two favorites to lead the country for the next five years both cast their votes: the liberal Lee Jae-myung in Seoul and the conservative Yoon Suk-yeol in the southeastern city of Busan.

The current president, the liberal Moon Jae-in, who is not allowed by the country’s constitution to stand for re-election, also cast his vote in Seoul ahead of the Mar. 9 election day.