Ministry of Government and Home Affairs Also Studying Ways to Expand Voting Hours


By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
A law on referendums has come under review to boost voter participation, in the wake of lower-than-expected turnouts in several popular elections earlier this year.

The Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs said Tuesday it is considering lowering the voting age in referendums from 20 to 19, the voting age limit in elections for president, national assembly representatives, council members and other public office holders.

It is also studying ways of increasing voting hours. The law on referendums stipulates ballots be cast between 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and between 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

Ministry officials are seeking to extend the voting deadline for both weekends and holidays to 8 p.m.

The Ministry said it will hold further discussions with the National Election Commission and local authorities in seeking changes to the laws regarding referendums.

The discussions will also include setting guidelines for limiting the power of provincial and municipal governments to stimulate voter participate in referendums.

Referendums are direct votes by the electorate to accept or refuse proposals.

There have been three referendums held in Korea this year, including a referendum on the local government structure of Cheju-do, a referendum consolidating Chongju City and Chongwon County and last week’s popular vote in four cities over hosting Korea’s first nuclear waste dumpsite.

Voter turnout in the Cheju referendum held last July was just 37.7 percent in which the residents opted for a proposition that merges four cities and counties into two and the consolidated local councils.

Although the North Kyongsang Province city of Kyongju was selected as the site for the nuclear dump after the elections last week, based on an approval rate of nearly 90 percent and a voter turnout of more than 70 percent, critics argue that the voting results were not high, considering the strained efforts by city governments to encourage eligible residents to go to the polls.

thkim@koreaatimes.co.kr