President Lee: "Including Facial Photos on Ballot Papers Is Impossible...Practical Considerations Needed"

President Lee Holds First Anniversary Press Conference
Lee Met with People with Developmental Disabilities on Early Voting Day
"It Is Right to Consider Practical Feasibility"

President Lee Jae-myung stated on June 8 that it is "impossible" to include facial photos on ballots, as requested by people with developmental disabilities, and added, "We need to find another way."

President Lee made these remarks in response to a question about restrictions on the voting rights of people with disabilities during a press conference marking the first anniversary of his inauguration at the Blue House Guesthouse on the same day.

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at a press conference for the first anniversary of his inauguration held at the Blue House Guesthouse on June 8, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On May 29, President Lee met with a human rights organization for people with developmental disabilities in front of the Samcheong-dong Community Center, where he had visited for early voting. The organization has been demanding the provision of election materials and pictorial ballots that are easily understandable for people with developmental disabilities, as well as the allowance of assistants.

President Lee said, "That day, I thought it was a good idea when people with developmental disabilities told me that they could cast their votes if facial photos were included on the ballots." However, he expressed concerns, adding, "After the meeting, I realized that early voting takes place nationwide, and there must be over ten thousand candidates across the country. If we prepare photos for all of them just for a few people with developmental disabilities, the polling stations would be filled with facial photos."

President Lee further explained, "The solution would be electronic voting, but then would it only be for people with developmental disabilities? If we change the entire system, there could be a huge controversy over fraudulent voting." He added, "Even applying facial photos for the main voting day would not be easy. I realized that this is not a simple problem."

Nevertheless, President Lee emphasized, "What is clear is that it is desirable to ensure that even one or a few marginalized people can exercise their basic rights as citizens." He added, "We should move toward maximizing basic rights as much as possible, taking into account what is realistically feasible."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.