Votes by merchant seamen most costly to process in presidential election

Votes by merchant seamen working overseas are expected to cost the most, to tally at around 154,000 won ($140) per person, compared with other ballots to be cast in December's presidential election, the government said Wednesday.

That figure is about 26 times the average ballot cost, which is estimated to reach 5,830 won, according to officials at the Ministry of Public Administration and Security and the National Election Commission, the country's election watchdog.

About 40.5 million citizens will be eligible to cast their votes in the Dec. 19 polls, and the government has budgeted about 236 billion won for collecting and counting their ballots, they said.

On-board voting for overseas crew members is set to take place for the first time this year via satellite fax following a constitutional appeal.

"It costs much more for overseas residents or crew members to cast their votes, but that's the price we have to pay to guarantee the people's political rights," said one ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

A total of 2 billion won has been budgeted for collecting the votes of a maximum of 13,000 merchant seamen.

In contrast, the government has allocated about 95,000 won for each overseas resident and 11,000 won for absentee ballots within the country. (Yonhap)