Overseas Koreans to get right to vote

Political parties will settle differences over a bill granting overseas Koreans suffrage in some elections here by next Thursday before passing it in a special parliamentary session next month, a lawmaker said yesterday.

"We will convene a plenary session of the special National Assembly committee on political reforms on Jan. 29 to pass it to the legislation committee (the final procedure before a floor vote)," said Rep. Cho Jin-hyeong of the ruling Grand National Party, who chairs the special committee.

"Though parties have yet to settle some differences over it, I believe chances are high for the bill to be passed in an Assembly plenary session on Feb. 2," he said.

The bill seeks to revise the election law, which was ruled unconstitutional in June 2007. The Constitutional Court said that limiting suffrage only to those whose residence is registered here infringes on overseas Koreans` rights to vote and to equal treatment, and ordered the revision by the end of last year.

Parties have so far agreed that the suffrage will be given only for presidential elections and the proportional representation section of parliamentary elections.

Whether to grant suffrage in elections for each electoral district is still disputed as it is hard to identify which constituency an overseas Korean belongs to. Opponents argue the suffrage could have an oversize impact in each election, which, in many cases, is determined by a small margin of votes.

Parties have also agreed that those with suffrage directly cast their ballots at the voting booths in Korean missions abroad rather than sending their votes by mail to prevent possible vote rigging.

Should the bill pass, overseas Koreans can vote from 2012 when general elections will take place.

But rival parties differ over how to define "overseas Koreans" in terms of voting rights.

The ruling party contends that suffrage must be given to all with permanent residency over age 19, whose number is estimated at 3 million.

Permanent residents, mostly elderly, who are regarded as conservative in their political views, could cast votes in the ruling party`s favor, analysts say.

The main opposition Democratic Party maintains that suffrage must be expanded and given in a stepwise fashion, first to temporary residents, including students and overseas Korean employees, whose number is estimated at 1.1 million.

Opponents also argue that overseas Koreans could have too much of an influence on local elections, given that the margin of votes in presidential elections has usually been around 1 million votes, and that it is difficult to regulate electoral irregularities overseas.

In 1972, then-President Park Chung-hee stripped overseas Koreans of the right to participate in domestic elections, as many of them opposed his dictatorship.

By Song Sang-ho



(sshluck@heraldm.com)