nec.go.kr 20th Presidential Election 2022 Overseas Absentees Reporting South Korea : National Commission

Organisation : National Election Commission (NEC)
Election Name : 20th Presidential Election 2022
Facility Name : Overseas Absentees Reporting
Applicable For : Overseas voters who are Korean citizen
Country : South Korea
Election Date : March 9, 2022
Reporting Last Date : January 8, 2022
Website : https://www.nec.go.kr/site/eng/ex/bbs/View.do?cbIdx=1270&bcIdx=150247

NEC Korea Presidential Election

The 2022 South Korean presidential election, or 20th Republic of Korea presidential election in South Korea, is scheduled to be held in South Korea on 9 March 2022. It will be the eighth presidential election since democratization.

Related / Similar Facility : NEC Join a Political Party South Korea

NEC Korea Overseas Absentees Reporting

The National Election Commission (NEC) of the Republic of Korea announced that the overseas absentees who expect to vote abroad for the 20th presidential election are required to report separately between October 10 in 2021 and January 8 in 2022.

Overseas absentees include students who study abroad, workers stationed abroad, and travellers, etc. who are on the resident registration list in Korea. The reporting can be done by visiting diplomatic missions or mobile offices, by post or e-mails, or through the NEC’s homepage website. Especially with the homepage website, it can be done in an easy and simple way without visiting the diplomatic missions to submit the relevant documents separately.

In addition, the overseas voters who are Korean citizen, but neither on the resident registration list in Korea nor on the overseas voters list must register as an overseas voter through the NEC’s homepage website by January 8, 2022.

The overseas voting period is from February 23 to 28, 2022. According to circumstances of each host country, the voting period of each diplomatic mission may be different, so the operation period of the overseas polling stations needs to be checked in advance through the homepage of the NEC or the Ministry of Foreign affairs.

In case one who has already reported as an overseas absentee returns to Korea before the start day of the overseas voting period (February 23, 2022), he/she can vote on the election day (March 9, 2022) at the polling stations within the jurisdiction of a voter’s address; the voting can be done after submitting the registration form of the ‘voting upon returning to Korea’ attached with the documentations to verify the fact of having returned to Korea.

As the overseas voting schedule for the 20th presidential election begins in a full scale, the NEC said that it will do its utmost to increase the turnout of overseas voting, and asked for positive interests and participation from the overseas Koreans.

Right To Vote:
Korean citizens aged nineteen years of age or more have the right to vote in presidential elections and National Assembly elections. Korean citizens aged nineteen years of age or more that are registered as a resident in the constituency under the jurisdiction of the relevant local government as of the date used as the standard for creating the voters list has the right to vote in local elections.

According to Article 34 (Preparation and Management of Registration Form of Foreigners) of the ‘Immigration Control Act,’ a non-Korean citizen registered in the relevant local constituency and who has had a resident visa for at least three years has the right to vote.

However, any citizen that meets any of the following criteria as of election day may not be allowed to vote:
** A person who is declared incompetent
** A person who is sentenced to imprisonment without prison labor or a heavier punishment but whose sentence execution has not been terminated or whose sentence execution has not been decided to be exempted
** A person who commits an election crime, who violates the Election Act/the Political Fund Act, or who commits the crimes in connection with the duties while in office as the President, a member of the National Assembly, a member of local council, and a head of local government.
** A person whose right to vote is suspended or forfeited according to a court ruling or any other Act.

Election Calendar

Presidential Elections:
Held every five years on the first Wednesday after 70 days before the term of office of the President expires.

Last election: May 9, 2017 (Early election)
Next election: March 9, 2022 (Provisional)

National Assembly Elections
Held every four years on the first Wednesday after 50 days before the term of office of the National Assembly Members expires.

Last election: April 15, 2020
Next election: April 10, 2024

Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections:
Held every four years on the first Wednesday after 30 days before the term of office of the elected office expires.

Last election: June 13, 2018
Next election: June 1, 2022