By Kim Hyo-jin
The voting age is likely to be lowered to 18 for the 2017 presidential election.
The New Conservative Party for Reform (NCPR), created by lawmakers who left the Saenuri Party, said Wednesday that it will seek to lower the voting age from 19 to 18 and apply it to the next election.
With all three opposition parties supporting an increase in the number of eligible voters, there is a high possibility that the Election Law could be revised during an extraordinary session of the National Assembly in January.
If revised, those who are 18, currently high school students, will be able to vote in the presidential election, which could take place earlier than scheduled.
"We agreed to lower the voting age to 18," Rep. Choung Byoung-gug, the head of the preparatory committee for the establishment of the NCPR said after a meeting of the group.
"We will strive to pass a revision as soon as possible and apply it possibly from the presidential election."
The NCPR, which will be officially inaugurated Jan. 24, now has 30 incumbent lawmakers.
With 165 opposition lawmakers and six independent lawmakers, the National Assembly can meet the requirement of 200 seats needed to pass a revision bill without the participation of the ruling Saenuri Party.
The Saenuri Party now has 99 lawmakers while the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has become the largest party with 121 seats. The minor opposition People's Party has 38 seats and the Justice Party, six.
The opposition parties made lowering the voting age their official position in the 20th National Assembly.
Hailing the NCPR coming onboard, Rep. Woo Sang-ho, the DPK's floor leader said, "Lowering the voting age is an issue to be pushed through in this Assembly, not one to be considered depending on whether it is advantageous to each party."
The People's Party earlier announced the adjustment of the voting age as one of their four major reform policies. Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a former party leader and a potential presidential candidate, has publicly supported a civic groups' campaign to lower the voting age to 18.
If the voting age is lowered, the number of eligible voters will increase by 600,000 ― 1.5 percent of the electorate, considering it was 42.1 million at the end of last year, according to the National Election Commission.
South Korea is the only country that limits the voting age to 19, while the remaining 32 OECD nations allow voting from the age of 18 with the exception of Poland where it is 20, lawmakers said.
The voting age in Korea was set at the age of 21 in 1948 and lowered to 20 in 1960 with the onset of the liberal government. It was later adjusted to 19 in 2005, the first change in 45 years.
The voting age is likely to be lowered to 18 for the 2017 presidential election.
The New Conservative Party for Reform (NCPR), created by lawmakers who left the Saenuri Party, said Wednesday that it will seek to lower the voting age from 19 to 18 and apply it to the next election.
With all three opposition parties supporting an increase in the number of eligible voters, there is a high possibility that the Election Law could be revised during an extraordinary session of the National Assembly in January.
If revised, those who are 18, currently high school students, will be able to vote in the presidential election, which could take place earlier than scheduled.
"We agreed to lower the voting age to 18," Rep. Choung Byoung-gug, the head of the preparatory committee for the establishment of the NCPR said after a meeting of the group.
"We will strive to pass a revision as soon as possible and apply it possibly from the presidential election."
The NCPR, which will be officially inaugurated Jan. 24, now has 30 incumbent lawmakers.
With 165 opposition lawmakers and six independent lawmakers, the National Assembly can meet the requirement of 200 seats needed to pass a revision bill without the participation of the ruling Saenuri Party.
The Saenuri Party now has 99 lawmakers while the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has become the largest party with 121 seats. The minor opposition People's Party has 38 seats and the Justice Party, six.
The opposition parties made lowering the voting age their official position in the 20th National Assembly.
Hailing the NCPR coming onboard, Rep. Woo Sang-ho, the DPK's floor leader said, "Lowering the voting age is an issue to be pushed through in this Assembly, not one to be considered depending on whether it is advantageous to each party."
The People's Party earlier announced the adjustment of the voting age as one of their four major reform policies. Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a former party leader and a potential presidential candidate, has publicly supported a civic groups' campaign to lower the voting age to 18.
If the voting age is lowered, the number of eligible voters will increase by 600,000 ― 1.5 percent of the electorate, considering it was 42.1 million at the end of last year, according to the National Election Commission.
South Korea is the only country that limits the voting age to 19, while the remaining 32 OECD nations allow voting from the age of 18 with the exception of Poland where it is 20, lawmakers said.
The voting age in Korea was set at the age of 21 in 1948 and lowered to 20 in 1960 with the onset of the liberal government. It was later adjusted to 19 in 2005, the first change in 45 years.
