Election 2017 Overseas voting kicks off for 6-day run
By Choi Ha-young
Koreans staying abroad started casting ballots for the presidential election, Tuesday.
The voting will continue until April 30 at 204 polling stations in 116 countries, according to the National Election Commission (NEC).
Voters can stop by any nearby station, regardless of their home region. Original documents to prove their nationality are necessary as well as their passports and identification cards which show the holders’ name, picture and birthdate.
Those who return to Korea before Tuesday can vote in designated stations, but should report their arrival to the NEC in advance.
The NEC said a total of 294,633 overseas voters are on the electoral roll, about 0.7 percent of the total. As seen by the burgeoning interests in domestic politics, a record high number of overseas Koreans are expected to vote in the historical election that follows the removal from office of ex-President Park Geun-hye.
In the 2012 presidential election, 71.1 percent of 222,389 overseas residents cast their ballots.
Information about candidates and their pledges are available on the
.
The voters are obliged to check out the operation period of each polling booth through the NEC website, since some of them will run for less than six days. Voting is possible from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the available days.
Their ballots will be delivered to Korea by May 9 and will be tallied along with those cast here.
To attract overseas voters, the two leading contenders have revealed tailored pledges. Front-runner Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea vowed to expand the budget for overseas education facilities. Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party promised to set up a presidential commission dedicated to supporting overseas nationals.