Conservative lawmaker propose tougher restrictions for foreign voters
Rep. Kim Mi-ae of the ruling People Power Party plans to propose a bill that would place tighter restrictions on the voting rights of foreign national permanent residents in local elections, the lawmaker's office said Monday.
Under the current law, foreign nationals over 18 with at least three years of permanent residency — those with an F5 visa — are allowed to vote for mayors, governors and local council members. However, they can not vote in presidential or general elections.
The bill aims to revise the Public Official Election Act by raising the bar from the current three years to 10 years. It also seeks to only grant voting rights to permanent residents from countries, by treaty or similar agreements, that allow South Korean permanent residents to vote in their elections.
The bill would be officially introduced Tuesday, according to Rep. Kim's office.
The latest bill seems to align with the conservative party's claims in recent years — some believe the growing number of Chinese nationals with permanent residenty here could 'distort' the outcome of local elections. Conservative lawmakers have pointed to the reports of the Chinese government's alleged attempts to meddle in elections held in Canada and Australia.
Meanwhile, critics say that imposing such restrictions on the voting rights of foreign permanent residents goes against the government's goal of embracing immigration as a solution to the country's fast-aging society.
According to parliamentary data obtained and released by Rep. Kim in mid-March, some 140,000 foreign national residents will be eligible to vote in the upcoming April 2 by-elections. Chinese nationals accounted for the majority at 81 percent, or 113,500 people, followed by those from Taiwan at 6.9 percent, Japan at 4.8 percent and Vietnam at 1.1 percent.
The upcoming elections will determine the new education superintendent for the country's southern city of Busan. City mayors and district chiefs in several regions, including Guro-gu in northern Seoul, Asan in South Chungcheong Province, Damyang-gun in South Jeolla Province and Gimcheon in North Gyeongsang Province will be decided as well.
The 2005 amendment to the Public Official Election Act, which allowed foreign permanent residents to vote in some elections, was pursued by the then-Roh Moo-hyun administration. The revision partly hoped to encourage Tokyo to allow Korean permanent residents to participate in their elections. Japan, however, has yet to allow foreign residents to vote in any of its elections.
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