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South Koreans waited in long lines outside polling places Wednesday, enduring one of the coldest days of the winter so far, to choose a new president, the sixth since the country adopted a democratic constitution in 1987.

The latest polls showed a tossup between conservative Park Geun-hye and liberal Moon Jae-in, the two major candidates. Mr. Moon narrowed Ms. Park's lead with a stronger performance in three debates earlier this month.

Both candidates crossed the nation on Tuesday, stopping in several cities to urge their supporters to vote.

In a sign of the high interest in the close race, early turnout numbers showed far more people were voting than in the last presidential election five years ago and suggested that turnout may near the 80% level last seen in the 1990s, despite temperature highs of -6 Celsius or about 20 Fahrenheit.

At 2 p.m. local time, 52.6% of the approximately 40.4 million eligible voters had cast a ballot, the National Election Commission said.

About 60 people waited in a line stretching out the door at a polling place in central Seoul in the afternoon. Song Ji-hoon, 32 years old, said he'd been waiting for about 30 minutes, the longest in approximately 10 elections he has participated in. 'I've never had to wait like this before,' Mr. Song said.

In interviews outside polling stations, voters said economic issues were driving their choices.

In the central city of Cheonan, Lee Hyun-joung, a university student, said she was most worried about the high cost of tuition and household debt. At the same location, Han Seung-hyun, a father of three, said, 'I paid attention to welfare policy [proposals], especially child welfare.'

The winner will face critical challenges. South Korea, a key ally of the U.S., shares a border with a nuclear-armed North Korea. Its economy. among the strongest in Asia, is slowing, while the country's aging population is pushing welfare costs.

Ms. Park, the daughter of former South Korean president Park Chung-hee, has been considered the front-runner in this year's election since losing the conservative party's nomination in the 2007 to current President Lee Myung-bak.

Mr. Moon, a chief of staff to the last liberal President Roh Moo-hyun, entered electoral politics earlier this year by winning a parliamentary seat. He then prevailed in a monthlong presidential primary and over a popular university professor with liberal leanings who tried to push him aside and acquire the backing of Mr. Moon's Democratic United Party.

Ms. Park and Mr. Moon are running for a single, five-year term in a presidency that wields vast authority over the broader government. The South Korean president, in addition to choosing the leaders of government ministries, controls its $300 billion annual budget, commands a 600,000-person military, appoints the chiefs of approximately 400 state-run companies and proposes about 90 % of the legislation taken up by the elected members of parliament.

The trend of a rapidly-aging populace appeared to favor Ms. Park. When Mr. Roh was elected 10 years ago, younger voters in their 20s and 30s who tend to support liberals accounted for 49% of the population. This year, they accounted for 38%.

Meanwhile, older voters in their 50s and 60s who tend to support conservatives amounted to 39% of the population, up from 29% in the 2002 vote.

Polls close at around 6 p.m. local time, with results likely a few hours later.