High turnout in overseas ballot surprises candidates

By Yi Whan-woo

Strategists of the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) have been warily watching the turnout of overseas voters because it has turned out to be much higher than expected.

The Park Geun-hye and the Moon Jae-in camps were calculating which side will benefit most from the higher turnout.

According to the National Election Commission (NEC) Tuesday, more than seven of every 10 registered overseas voters cast their ballots to pick a new president. Of some 2.3 million eligible voters, 223,389 living in 110 countries registered for the Dec. 19 election and 71.2 percent of them went to polling stations set up in Korean consulates or embassies.

After the National Assembly elections held in April, this is the second ballot in which overseas voters have participated. Voter turnout in April was 45.7 percent.

The high turnout for the presidential election went beyond the expectations of the NEC, and could play a significant role in the election because of the tight two-way race between conservative Park and the main liberal contender Moon.

“The total percentage was much higher than we’ve anticipated,” an NEC official on condition of anonymity.

The ballot began on Dec. 5 in Auckland, New Zealand and took place in 164 polling stations across 110 countries. The nations were from all Asia, Europe, Americas, Africa and Oceania. Voters in Europe had the highest participation rate of 77.2 percent, followed by those who voted in Africa at 70.8 percent, other Asian countries at 69 percent, the Americas with 68.5 percent, and the Middle East with 67.9 percent.

“The reason for such high turnout rate is attributed to the fact that this is the first-ever overseas absentee ballot for the presidential election,” the NEC official said. “The fact that there is no politically moderate candidate and the election will be an all-out war between conservatives and liberals also drew the interest of voters living abroad,” he said in somewhat contradictory terms.

The ballot boxes will be sent to Korea by Dec. 16 and be included for the final count on Dec. 19. Park and Moon both claim they will benefit from the result.

“Koreans living abroad are usually conservatives who say stability is the priority for the sake of their mother country,” said Yon Woo-chul, the head of the Saenuri Party's overseas nationals committee.

Of the 222,389 registered voters, 46.2 percent of them were in their 20s and 30s.

Claiming that the majority of them are “rational conservatives,” Yoo said he is assured of their support. He also said the group consisted of followers of Ahn Cheol-soo, a former independent candidate who abruptly withdrew from the presidential race following disharmony between him and Moon over a unified candidacy.

“The students abroad have shown their disappointment after Ahn’s withdrawal and are now endorsing Park,” Yoon said.

The DUP, on the other hand, offered a different interpretation.

According to the DUP, the voters share political affiliation with people of the same age group in Korea that have shown support for Moon over Park in general.