By Kang Hyun-kyung
The Constitutional Court ruled that the clause in the Election Law granting voting right to those aged 19 and older is constitutional.
In a case filed by a petitioner who claimed Article 15 of the Election Law infringes upon people’s voting rights, the nine-member court decided the article is constitutional in a six to three ruling, the court said Sunday.
“Lawmakers have decided the voting age at 19 as those under the age limit are deemed not fully mature to make their own, independent political decisions,” the court said in the ruling.
The court rejected the double standards allegation regarding the different minimum ages for other public duties. For instance, the age limit for mandatory military service is 18.
“Some made such allegations on the basis of the different minimum ages. Many other countries also set the voting age limit at 18. However, despite the differences, setting 19 as the minimum age for voting right is still constitutional because each legislation is made in specific context and background,” the court said.
The ruling was the response to a petition from a voter surnamed Choi who argued that the current law stipulating the age of 19 as the minimum age to exercise voting right is unconstitutional.
Proponents of lowering the age claim that 18-year-olds are mature enough to make their own decision, including the selection of lawmakers, mayors or president. Thus, they argued, the government should lower the minimum age to 18 so that more people can cast their ballots to select people to serve in public offices.
Lowering the voting age has become a hotly debated issue on several occasions over the past decade. Opposition parties have called for lowering the age limit to 18, while the ruling Saenuri Party has opposed it.
If the minimum voting age is adjusted to 18, nearly 710,000 new voters will be able to vote.