ID :
202068
Thu, 08/18/2011 - 09:26
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/202068
The shortlink copeid
Lee casts absentee ballot ahead of next week's free lunch vote
(ATTN: UPDATES with Lee's comment, background in para 4, 7)
SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak cast an absentee ballot ahead of next week's referendum on Seoul's free school lunch program as he will be on a trip to Central Asia on polling day.
Lee and first lady Kim Yoon-ok cast their votes at an absentee polling station set up at a district office in central Seoul. The main vote, scheduled for Wednesday, asks Seoul citizens whether to continue the opposition-led policy of providing all students with free lunch.
Lee and Kim are scheduled to leave for Mongolia on Sunday for a six-day trip to Central Asia that includes stops in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
"I think voting is a significant right and duty in a democratic nation," Lee said after casting his vote. "I participated in the vote to express my view."
Lee's ruling Grand National Party and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon have denounced the free lunch program as a populist policy weighing on government finances. Instead, they have suggested providing free lunch only to students in need first.
Opposition parties argue poor students who receive free lunch could be stigmatized at school.
At issue is whether the turnout will reach the minimum 33.3 percent required for the vote to be valid. Opposition parties have stepped up campaigns urging citizens to boycott the vote, while Mayor Oh and the GNP have been seeking a higher turnout.
Lee has repeatedly voiced concern about politicians seeking populist proposals ahead of next year's parliamentary elections. In a Liberation Day speech Monday, Lee said that giving financial aid to those who are well off would dry up the budget for those in desperate need.
SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak cast an absentee ballot ahead of next week's referendum on Seoul's free school lunch program as he will be on a trip to Central Asia on polling day.
Lee and first lady Kim Yoon-ok cast their votes at an absentee polling station set up at a district office in central Seoul. The main vote, scheduled for Wednesday, asks Seoul citizens whether to continue the opposition-led policy of providing all students with free lunch.
Lee and Kim are scheduled to leave for Mongolia on Sunday for a six-day trip to Central Asia that includes stops in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
"I think voting is a significant right and duty in a democratic nation," Lee said after casting his vote. "I participated in the vote to express my view."
Lee's ruling Grand National Party and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon have denounced the free lunch program as a populist policy weighing on government finances. Instead, they have suggested providing free lunch only to students in need first.
Opposition parties argue poor students who receive free lunch could be stigmatized at school.
At issue is whether the turnout will reach the minimum 33.3 percent required for the vote to be valid. Opposition parties have stepped up campaigns urging citizens to boycott the vote, while Mayor Oh and the GNP have been seeking a higher turnout.
Lee has repeatedly voiced concern about politicians seeking populist proposals ahead of next year's parliamentary elections. In a Liberation Day speech Monday, Lee said that giving financial aid to those who are well off would dry up the budget for those in desperate need.
