Lawmakers agree to give voting rights to 2.4 million Korean expatriates

SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korean lawmakers on Thursday agreed to give voting rights to 2.4 million Korean expatriates so they can take part in presidential and parliamentary elections starting in 2012.

The decision reached at the special committee for political reform calls for
changing current laws governing national and regional voting that have been
deemed by the court as conflicting with the country's constitution.
If the reform measures are passed by parliament on Monday as planned, all South
Korean nationals over the age of 19 who live abroad can vote for the president
and lawmakers aspiring for proportional seats on a party ticket.
Eligibility will not be affected even if the person is a permanent resident of a
foreign country, while those who are abroad temporarily and have maintained their
Korean citizenship certificate can vote for lawmakers representing
constituencies.
The National Assembly said voting will be conducted at South Korean diplomatic
missions, although alternative polling places can be provided in areas where
there are no embassies or consulates.
The ambassador and chief consul will be charged with overseeing the fairness of
elections, with the votes being sent to the National Election Commission before
the actual voting day. These will then be sent to their respective constituencies
and counted, like the absentee ballots cast by soldiers.
People wanting to vote must register with South Korean diplomatic missions ahead
of the election. Campaigning will be conducted via official Internet homepages of
candidates and political parties, and by special satellite broadcasts that can
air commercials. Violators of the new overseas voting laws could be prosecuted up
to five years after the election.
Lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties, however, decided not to
allow voting from ships or through the mail, since ballots would run the risk of
tampering.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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