Lee Hae-rin is a City Desk reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues, tourism and taekwondo. She is passionate about speaking up for the rights of minorities, including women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and animals as well as discovering the latest makgeolli trend in town. Feel free to reach her at lhr@koreatimes.co.kr.
Casting ballots in optical store: Korea's unusual polling stations
A voter hands over his identification card to an election official before he is given ballot papers at a polling station installed at an optical store in eastern Seoul's Gwangjin District, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
By Lee Hae-rin
By Lee Hae-rin
A total of 14,465 polling stations were installed for over 44 million eligible voters to cast their ballots in the June 1 local elections. Many of them were located in schools, government offices and community centers which are easily accessible and well-known to local residents. But some polling stations were set up in unlikely places.
These venues included an optical store, car showroom, barbecue restaurant, coffee shop and taekwondo gym. These private business establishments had consented to lend their space to the National Election Commission (NEC) for the day.
According to an NEC official, the commission's standards for selecting a polling venue include its accessibility for the disabled and proximity to public transportation. These locations are also supposed to be known to the residents, so that they don't have trouble finding them when they go to vote. That's why many polling stations are installed on the first floor of schools and community service centers, or in buildings with an elevator.
However, the commission's task to find and secure suitable venues for polling stations has always been a challenge.
Voters cast their ballots at an optical store. The store displays banners for a clearance sale. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
“A polling station has to be installed somewhere people are already familiar with and have easy access to. But it's easier said than done,” the NEC official told The Korea Times, Wednesday. For some geographical or other reasons, some neighborhoods, in both urban and suburban areas, are more difficult to secure a polling place.
The official added that the COVID-19 pandemic has made the already-tricky job even more challenging. The rapid increase in the number of patients discouraged many property owners from allowing public access to their facilities for the elections.
So the venues that have been selected are turned into polling stations, suspending regular operations until the next day.
The government provides a certain amount of compensation in proportion to the size of the venue.
“We cannot provide them with a handsome financial benefit, but we assure them that distancing and disinfection measures will be taken to keep everybody safe,” the official said.
An indoor baseball training facility at Cheonggu Elementary School in eastern Seoul is transformed into a polling station, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
These unusual venues seem to add a little fun to the voting experience.
A box of baseballs and bats were stacked at the corner of a polling station installed at Cheonggu Elementary School in Seoul, Wednesday. Meanwhile, huge banners advertising a clearance sale were hung at an optical store which will shut down permanently in a few days in eastern Seoul's Gwangjin District.
“It's easy and convenient to have a polling station near where I live. Along with the boxes of sports equipment, it had everything I need to vote,” a female voter in her 20s told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity, Wednesday, after casting her ballot in the school.