As overseas Koreans will participate in the nation’s presidential election for the first time in 40 years this December, the National Election Commission is determined to make it free of violations.

From the 180-day mark until the Dec. 19 election day, which is June 22, eligible Korean voters residing anywhere in the world are banned from forming private organizations to campaign for a certain candidate.

If a private group ― be it a forum, fan club, or even an alpine club ― already supports a certain candidate, each organization must not engage in systematic campaigns such as by holding rallies, providing monetary rewards to voters or receiving subsidies from the candidate.

“For overseas voters, there are a total of 55 NEC officials dispatched to a total of 28 countries to prevent and watch out for any election law violations,” said a NEC official who wished to remain unidentified.

“While there are those who have recently moved out of Korea, there are also those who have been residing overseas for a long period of time and therefore are more used to the election and campaign characteristics of the country they live in,” the official said.

The NEC is thus more focused at the moment on educating what constitutes illegal campaigning by distributing information through the embassies, local Korean-language newspapers and association gatherings.

As part of the efforts, the NEC is set to send out leaflets explaining the recently revised regulations next week.

So far, there are reportedly several heavy-duty and politically-charged organizations in operation overseas, such as “New Power of Korea” and “U.S. Hannara Forum” in support of the ruling Saenuri Party. “Koreans United for Democracy, Peace and Unification” and “Minju Forum” are some of the groups supportive of the main opposition Democratic United Party.

“Before clamping down on any illegal activities, it is our priority to first learn each of the group’s activities and provide them with the necessary information so that they do not end up breaking the law,” the official said.

The Public Official Election Act was revised this February to impose more realistic punishment in case of election law violations.

For instance, if a Korean living overseas refuses questioning by the NEC despite being suspected of a law violation subject to three or more years imprisonment, the Foreign Ministry is obliged to ban issuance or reissuance of the person’s passport, or order the return of the passport.

As for those who are no longer a Korean national but engage in illegal campaigning, the justice minister can ban entry of the persons in question into Korea until the tenure of the relevant election winner ends.

There are currently 10 NEC officials each dispatched to the United States and Japan with the largest Korean populations. Others include six in China, three in Canada, two each in Australia and Germany, as well as one each in Brazil, Britain, France and others.

Overseas Koreans were allowed to cast their ballots starting in this year’s April 11 general elections after the restriction imposed since 1972 was lifted in 2009, following a 2007 Constitutional Court ruling that upheld overseas Koreans’ right to vote.

“It is hoped that the upcoming presidential election is conducted in a fair manner with all the overseas Koreans fully informed and that they participate in accordance with relevant regulations,” the official said.

By Lee Joo-hee (jhl@heraldcorp.com)