Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Foreign-born voters feel invisible in local elections
Foreign residents participate in a mock poll held at a multicultural family support center in Daejeon, May 24, ahead of the June 1 local elections. Yonhap
By Lee Hyo-jin
Over 120,000 foreign residents eligible to vote, but lack of institutional support makes it difficult to exercise their right
By Lee Hyo-jin
A record-high number of over 120,000 immigrants will be eligible to vote in the local elections slated for Wednesday, reflecting the rapidly growing foreign population in Korea. While the local elections are the only chance for residents of foreign nationality to express their opinions through voting, many of them are left feeling helpless due to limited access to information about the candidates and their campaign pledges.
Following a revision to the Public Official Election Act in August 2005, foreign nationals who have resided in Korea for three years or longer after obtaining permanent residency are given the right to vote in the quadrennial local elections.
According to the National Election Commission (NEC), a total of 127,623 foreign residents are eligible to vote in this year's elections, a 20 percent increase from the previous elections held in 2018.
“As equal members of the local community, foreign-born residents have been guaranteed voting rights in local elections, so that they can participate in the basic process of forming political agendas,” said an official at the NEC, explaining why foreign nationals are allowed to vote only in local elections, not in other elections in which the president and National Assembly representatives are chosen.
Thus, the local elections are so far the only opportunity for immigrants to express their opinions on the country's politics by voting.
“I am planning to vote on Wednesday,” said David Tizzard, a 40-year-old British resident living in Nowon District of Seoul, adding that this election is his second time voting in Korea after he became a permanent resident in 2015.
“I have received all the information (needed to vote) and have been following the local and national developments with some interest,” he said. “And the qualities I look for in a candidate are rather simple: for someone to be both inspiring and honest. I look for those who seem like they are working for a greater good rather than simply their own self-promotion.”
Limited access to information
But not all permanent residents of foreign nationality are prepared to vote. In fact, a significant number of them do not even know about their voting rights, according to a report by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea published in November 2018.
Four out of every 10 foreign permanent residents thought that they were ineligible to vote, while another 24 percent were not aware of their voting rights.
Tim Clauson, 33, a resident from New Zealand living in Mapo District of Seoul, is one of them.
“I wasn't aware that I am eligible to vote. My Korean ability isn't good enough to fully understand the politicians and their campaigns,” Clauson told The Korea Times.
Residents in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, participate in a get-out-the-vote campaign in front of a foreign residents' support center, May 15, encouraging immigrant voters to participate in the June 1 local elections. Newsis
He also pointed out that campaign materials and information about the candidates were provided only in the Korean language, which could be a major reason why many foreign residents may be indifferent about the elections.
“It would help if there was some outreach in English, to help me become more interested in what policies are being campaigned on and how they would affect me and my family,” he said. “It would be good to see more outreach for foreigners, but I think it's unlikely to happen given that we are a minority and therefore there's relatively little payoff for the Korean politicians…”
Regarding the provision of translation services, the NEC official said that leaflets on voting procedures are being provided in three foreign languages ― English, Japanese and Chinese ― but whether to offer translation services of campaign promises and other materials depends on each candidate running.
Lee Gyeong-suk, a Chinese-born immigrant who heads an association of migrant women voters, representing about 330,000 members, most of whom are naturalized Koreans, viewed that the absence of migrant-related campaign promises could be another reason why immigrants are reluctant to vote.
“There has been growing interest among foreign-born spouses in local elections. I would say they show even bigger attention to municipal elections than the presidential election, since they believe the former are more closely related to their daily lives. However, it is very hard to find any campaign promises about improving the lives of migrants or multicultural families, which is disappointing,” she said.
“Politicians tend to ignore immigrant voters because we are small in number. But they should keep in mind that in the coming years, the number of foreign residents and members of the multicultural community will continue to grow.”
But at the same time, Lee urged foreign permanent residents to exercise their voting rights more actively in order to tackle the lack of representation of ethnic minority groups in Korean politics. “I always tell my fellow immigrants that we should raise our voices through voting and let the policymakers know that we are here,” she said.