Overseas voting suspended in 17 countries over coronavirus
A Korean living in Australia votes at the Consulate General of Korea in Sydney for the general election in 2016. / Korea Times fileBy Kang Seung-wooVoting of overseas Koreans for the upcoming general election is facing major setbacks as the nation's election watchdog has decided to suspend polling activities in 17 countries hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.According to the National Election Commission (NEC), the voting process will be put on hold at 23 diplomatic missions in 17 countries, meaning 18,392 Koreans living in those countries will not be able to cast their ballots for the April 15 general election.Earlier, more than 177,000 Koreans in 119 countries applied to register to vote in the proportional representation election, with the voting initially being scheduled from April 1 to 6.The 17 are Germany, Spain, Ireland, Britain, the Kyrgyz Republic, France, Ghana, South Africa, Nepal, India, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Ecuador, Honduras, Colombia, the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam and Italy ― the countries where lockdowns and movement restrictions have been implement
Mar 26, 2020By Kang Seung-woo