Can They Vote Too?

By Abhishek D. Joshi

Around 2.4 million Koreans residing abroad will soon be given the privilege of participating in their country's electoral process.

Every citizen has the right to participate in the electoral process of his/her country. It is the citizens who choose the destiny of their country in a democratic process. Then why shouldn't citizens residing abroad be given voting rights? It's good that all the parties agree on this issue. But does everyone qualify for such privileges?

As per this bill, any Korean citizen living abroad over the age of 19 has the right to vote, allowing him or her to directly participate in presidential and parliamentary elections. The development of a country is inherently and solely dependent on the policy makers. Thus, their election is very sacred.

Who can be given the voting rights? According to this bill, person A, who was born to Koreans in Korea and resides in the United States from 8 years old, has got a right to elect a leader in Korea. Person B, born and educated in Korea and working in Britain and with dual citizenship for the past 20 years has got the right to elect a leader in Korea. Person C, born and educated in Korea, resides in the United States with a green card while waiting for naturalization and has no intention of returning to Korea and also has the right to elect a leader in Korea.

Does anyone feel A, B, and C or any of them deserve the fortune of electing a leader in Korea? Even if they do, just for having Korean citizenship ― do they really bother to even examine the candidates? Even if they know something about them, should they really get a chance to have a say in electing a leader whose policies will not affect them in any major way?

Citizens are given the right to vote because it is they who are affected by the policies and decisions of the leaders. Why bother to give voting rights to a person who may not be affected? A Japanese or a European is in no way affected by President Lee Myung-bak's decision on regulation and deregulation.

Instead, a South-African English teacher residing in Korea for the past five to six years with long-terms plans is affected by President Lee's decisions, and he or she should have a say in the electoral process. Lawmakers should ensure that only those who are affected or influenced, in any way, should be given voting rights. Giving voting rights to A, B and C is like giving rights to a Japanese or German to elect a leader in Korea.

On the other hand, maybe Koreans abroad only temporarily should be given voting rights, because they plan to return to their country. He/she may be affected by the policies of the leader, just like normal Korean citizens. Person D has gone to Australia for a period of three years for education and will return back to Korea thereafter. Won't D be more seriously bothered about the scenario when he or she returns?

One may contend that long-term foreign residents bring a lot of foreign reserves with them, and the same holds for short-term visitors, and there's no arguing it. But countries don't operate on foreign reserves alone. It would be imbecility to argue that only a particular party can attract foreign investments or the other party would just create policies, driving away foreign reserves.

A short-term visitor would be more selfish and vote for the best possible candidate, hoping that the elected representative would do a lot of great deeds, bring in lots of development and look at the candidate as a knight in shining armor. A short-term visitor has stakes in the country's future, for it's also his or her future.

But can the same be said of a long-term visitor or someone who plans to never return to Korea? No, a long-term visitor might not be even aware of the ground realities and local issues at hand. Will he ever have interacted with the candidate from his constituency? Will he know all about the developmental work and policies proposed by his or her candidate? A few residents abroad might, but what are the odds that they all will? When they don't, what are the odds that they will make the right decision and elect the right candidate? Will any Korean in Korea want to suffer because of decisions made by Koreans living abroad?

Korean constitutionalism is definitely at a remarkable juncture in which even residents living overseas will get a chance to vote. But such rights and privileges should be bestowed only on those who deserve it and might get affected by it. One can find many cases of A, B, C and D in Korean families. Instead of granting every Korean citizen residing abroad voting rights, lawmakers should consider extending the privilege foreigners residing in Korea with long-term plans.

This issue has not only plagued Korea but many nations in the world, including my home country. I will always prefer that rightful stakeholders have the sacred right to vote.

The writer is a graduate student at Seoul National University's School of Electrical Engineering. He can be reached at abhishek@ispl.snu.ac.kr