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Korea Herald
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Voting for June 3 election begins Tuesday with overseas Koreans
The National Election Commission announced Monday that overseas voting for South Korea's June 3 presidential election kicks off Tuesday, granting some 260,000 registered South Korean voters in 118 countries access to polling stations. Of the 223 overseas polling stations worldwide, 137 will operate daily for the full six-day voting period, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. While operating hours may vary at other locations, all polling stations will close by 5 p.m. local time on Sunday. Given time differences across the world, South Koreans in New Zealand and Fiji will be the first to be granted access to overseas polling stations, at 5 a.m. Tuesday by Korean time. A polling station in Hawaii will be the last to remain open, until noon on May 26, Korean time. The polling stations will be established at South Korean diplomatic missions in 182 countries plus an additional 41 makeshift facilities. According to election authorities, Cuba, Estonia, Lithuania and Luxembourg will have polling stations for South Korean voters for the first time, meaning South Koreans there will no longer have to travel to neighboring countries to vote. Election authorities announced on May 5 that 258,254 people overseas had registered as voters for the June 3 election, up 14.2 percent from the previous presidential election in 2022. Those heading to the stations must hold a valid ID card with photo identification, according to the NEC. Overseas Koreans who do not hold South Korean citizenship must present a valid visa or permanent resident card. Ballot voting for Koo Joo-wa, who was the presidential candidate for the Liberty Unification Party but withdrew his candidacy on Sunday, will be deemed invalid, according to the NEC. With Koo's withdrawal, voters will have six candidates to choose from. The NEC also said that those who registered for overseas voting in a foreign country but did not cast a vote there should register themselves again as voters with local election authorities in South Korea -- from May 26 until June 3 -- if they intend to cast a vote in their home country. The liberal Democratic Party of Korea said in a statement Monday that the party would endeavor to "do its best on the back of overseas voters' enthusiasm," as many overseas voters will drive for hours or fly to their designated polling station for in-person voting. The Democratic Party has nominated as its candidate Rep. Lee Jae-myung, who is the current front-runner in the race. Kim Moon-soo, candidate for the main conservative People Power Party, said in a speech broadcast via KBS Korea on Saturday at 3 a.m. that as president he would work to give more young overseas Koreans greater access to programs to visit Korea and win scholarships, as well as to establish a human network of overseas Koreans and local South Korean governments. Meanwhile, polling stations for early in-person voting in South Korea are scheduled to open on May 29 and 30 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Korea Herald
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Why Yoon Suk Yeol supporters want him back
Though 10 days have passed since former President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from power by the Constitutional Court of Korea's ruling to uphold his impeachment, some of his supporters have continued to take to the streets on behalf of the disgraced ex-leader. A new slogan that the supporters have recently adopted is, 'Reset Korea, Yoon Again!' in English. In pro-Yoon protests that took place in front of Yoon's apartment in Seocho-gu on Friday as well as a rally of approximately 10,000 people in Gwanghwamun on Saturday, according to an official police estimate, the protesters were heard shouting the two English slogans while claiming Yoon's impeachment was "fraudulent." In front of Seoul Central District Court, where the first hearing in Yoon's criminal trial on charges of orchestrating an insurrection by declaring martial law Dec. 3 took place on Monday, supporters were also found holding the 'Yoon Again' signs. The 'Reset Korea, Yoon Again' slogan first appeared in a letter written by former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun in prison, revealed by Kim's lawyers at a rally organized by the far-right Liberty Unification Party on April 7. Kim, known to be Yoon's close confidant, is currently detained at the Seoul Dongbu Detention Center for his role in Yoon's botched martial law plot. 'We had to witness the heartbreaking collapse of judicial justice in South Korea due to political manipulation and fraudulent impeachment," wrote Kim. "The outrage and disappointment (I felt) were so overwhelming that I couldn't sleep. But this is not the end, it's a new beginning. We have no more ground to retreat to. We will prevail.' Kim then concluded the letter with the English words, 'Yoon Again,' which pro-Yoon protesters since adopted. In front of Seoul Central District Court on Monday morning, 27-year-old pro-Yoon protester Lee Sung-hyun, holding a 'Yoon Again' sign, told The Korea Herald that his continued motivation to speak in favor of the disgraced former president comes from his 'disappointment in Korean society.' 'Public opinion has been shaped to be so unfair toward our one and only President Yoon Suk Yeol. Honestly, I'm so disappointed at how Korean society can be so easily swayed by public opinion and what's being shown in the media,' said Lee. 'Sure, declaring martial law is bad, but we also have to consider what made (Yoon) declare martial law in the first place," according to him. Adding that he took a day off from work to partake in a rally in front of the court on Monday, he stated that he hopes for Yoon's 'swift return to politics to resolve the current political unrest in Korea.' Other than Lee, other pro-Yoon protesters claim that Yoon is eligible to run again for president, despite Korea's single-term presidency provision in the Constitution. According to Article 67 of the Constitution, Korea's presidents cannot run for re-election after serving their term under this rule to prevent the concentration of power in one individual and to avoid the risk of dictatorship, reflecting the country's history of overcoming authoritarian rule. Since Yoon technically did not serve a full term as president due to his impeachment, his supporters have claimed on social media platforms such as X that the single-term presidency rule doesn't apply to Yoon's case. On which grounds such statements are being made, however, are not clearly identified. According to the Constitutional Court Act, a president who is removed from office following an impeachment ruling is prohibited from holding any public office position for a period of five years after the ruling is made. Based on this law, some protesters argue that Yoon can also return to the presidency after the five-year period. However, law professor Hwang Do-ssu of Konkuk University, who specializes in constitutional law, told The Korea Herald expressed doubts about such arguments, saying that it is 'an invalid argument.' 'Since he has already been elected president once, the general interpretation there is that it will be considered to be a second term to serve consecutive terms or to return after a break, regardless of whether (Yoon) completed his term or not,' Hwang stated.
