NEC National Election Commission Korea : FAQ Frequently Asked Questions

Organisation : National Election Commission
Facility : Frequently Asked Questions
Country : Republic of Korea

FAQ : https://www.nec.go.kr/site/vt/main.do
Home page : http://www.nec.go.kr/portal/main.do

Frequently Asked Questions :

When was the National Election Commission(NEC) of Korea established?
The NEC was established on January 21, 1963 as an independent constitutional agency compatible with the National Assembly, the Government, Courts and the Constitutional Court of Korea.

Related / Similar Election : NEC Korea Presidential Election 2022 Overseas Absentees Reporting

What are the responsibilities and duties of the NEC?
The NEC is in charge of managing and overseeing all public elections including entrusted elections, referenda and residents voting.

Furthermore, the NEC has focused on the management of political parties, political funds and other political activities such as activities to enhance public awareness, train public servants and establish global relationships for researching and studying a foreign countrys election system and structure.

In addition, the NEC is doing its utmost in improving the politics structure and election system to support the development of political system and procedure, etc

What is the constitution of the Election Commission(EC) in Korea?
The EC has a fourtier structure consisting of the National Election Commission(NEC) at the top, and 16 Si(special metropolitan city)/Do(province) ECs, 249 Gu(ward)/Si(city)Gun(county) ECs, and 3,469 ECs in each Eup(town)/ Myeon(township)/ Dong(village).

How is the NEC composed?(ex. the number of commissioners, ways to elect members, and term of office, etc)
** The NEC is composed of nine members. Three members are appointed by the President, three are elected by the National Assembly, and the other three are nominated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
** The chairperson and the standing commissioner are elected from among the commissioners and as is its custom, a Justice of the Supreme Court is elected to be the chairperson.
** Standing commissioner is a fulltime job unlike the chairperson, and supports the chairperson and oversees Secretariat according to an order of the chairperson.
** The term of office is constitutionally guaranteed to be six years.
** The NEC includes the Secretariat, the Internet Election News Deliberation Commission, and the Election Debate Broadcasting Commission.

What is the composition of the NEC secretariat?
The NEC Secretariat is composed of a minister-level Secretary General and vice minister-level Deputy Secretary General in addition to two offices, seven bureaus, one training institute, and twenty five divisions. All staff members` status is in national government employees and the personnel management of secretariat such as recruiting, promoting, and appointing independently lies under the authority of the NEC.

What types of elections for Public Offices are held under the ECs management?
Under the Public Official Election Act, the ECs manage all national elections including the Presidential election and election for the National Assembly members, nationwide local elections for the heads of local governments and local council members.

When is the date of an election, how to decide on Election Day and what are the voting hours in elections?
Based on the Public Official Election Act, the dates of elections held at the expiration of the term are prescribed, however, in case of an election to fill up a presidential vacancy or reelection and an election for the heads of local governments due to an establishment, abolition, division or merger of local governments, the Election Days can be set by the president (or acting president) and the chairperson of the competent constituency election commission.

Date of Each Election :
1. Presidential Election : The first Wednesday from the 70th day before the expiration of the term of office.
2. Election for the National Assembly Members: The first Wednesday from the 50th day before the expiration of the term of office.
3. Elections of Heads of Local Governments and Local Council Members : The first Wednesday from the 30th day before the expiration of the term of office.
Voting Hours : From 6 am to 6 pm on Election Day

What is the legal voting age in each election?
** A national of nineteen years of age or above has the right to vote in presidential election and the National Assembly Election.
** A national who is nineteen years of age or above and is registered as a resident in the district under the jurisdiction of the local government concerned as of the record date of the voters list has the right to vote in local elections.

What are the legal qualifications to become a candidate at elections?
Concerning to the electoral eligibility for elections, the requirements to be elected are slightly different depending on the types of elections.
Presidential Election :
A national who is forty years of age or above and who has resided in the country for five years or longer as of the Election Day is eligible for election to the Presidency.

Election for the National Assembly members :
A national of twenty-five years of age or above is eligible to stand for a member of the National Assembly.

Local Elections :
A national who has registered as a resident in the district under jurisdiction of the local government concerned for sixty consecutive days or longer as of the Election Day and is twenty-five years of age or above is eligible to stand for elections for the relevant local council members and the head of the local government.

What are the qualifications of eligible foreign voters in local elections?
A Foreigner who is enrolled in the register of foreigners of the relevant local government after three years have passed since he/she acquired the qualification for permanent resident and is 19 years of age or above is eligible to vote in local elections.

What are the qualifications to the absentee voting in elections?
A person who is eligible for registering on voters list and is not able to cast a vote at a polling station on Election Day may cast an absentee ballot if only applying for absentee voting.

Where and when can electors cast absentee ballots?
For the convenience of people who cannot vote at their polling station on the Election Day, the competent Gu/Si/Gun election commission sets up and runs a polling station in which the electors listed on the absentee voters list may ballot in places like a public office for two days from six days before the Election Day.

In case of absentee voting, unlike in normal voting, an elector can vote at any absentee polling station irrespective of his or her residence. The absentee polling station opens at 10 am and closes at 4 pm.

Where and when can overseas citizens vote from outside the country?
Overseas voters can vote at overseas polling stations located at embassies, consulates, and diplomatic missions during the overseas voting period between 14 days and 9 days prior to the Election Day. Polling station are set up from 10 am to 5 pm regardless of holidays for the maximum of 6 days during the overseas voting period.

How can overseas citizens vote from outside the country?
Overseas voters entitled to vote should bring a ballot, shipping envelope and stamped addressed envelope(SAE) with his or her passport when they call at the polling station.

They shall write the name of a candidate, name or number of a political party in a ballot in the presidential election and the election for district representatives of the National Assembly. On the other hand, they shall write the name or number of a political party in the election for the proportional representatives of the National Assembly.