Ministry of Overseas Koreans Urges Real Protection of Overseas Voting Rights... Calls for Introduction of Mail-in and Electronic Voting

"Decision Needed in the National Assembly"
Plan to Implement Starting with the 2028 General Elections

Ministry of Overseas Koreans’ 2027 Budget Set at 136.9 Billion Won

A 21% Increase Compared to This Year

Kim Kyung-Hyup, Minister of the Ministry of Overseas Koreans, has stressed the need to introduce mail-in and electronic voting to provide real and substantial voting rights for overseas Koreans. He predicted that if the relevant Public Official Election Act is amended within this year, the system could be established and tested, making it possible to apply it starting from the general elections in 2028.

Kim Kyung-Hyup, Minister for Overseas Koreans, is reporting at the government ministry briefing presided over by President Lee Jae-myung at the Blue House State Guesthouse on the 5th of last month. Photo by Yonhap News

At a briefing held at the Seoul Government Complex on September 3, Minister Kim stated, "The voting rights of overseas Koreans should not be guaranteed only in a legal or formal manner, but should be genuinely protected," adding, "We must actively consider the introduction of mail-in or electronic voting so that overseas Koreans can exercise their voting rights more securely."

Minister Kim further stated, "There needs to be some kind of conclusion in the National Assembly within this year," and projected, "If the National Election Commission (NEC) builds the system and conducts tests next year, it could take about one year." He added, "That way, we believe it will be possible to implement this in the 2028 general elections."

Currently, several amendments to the Public Official Election Act, including provisions to introduce mail-in voting for overseas elections and establish a legal basis for electronic voting and tabulation, are pending in the National Assembly. The Ministry of Overseas Koreans (the Ministry) held a forum on improving the overseas election system at the National Assembly on March 20, and first raised the agenda of introducing mail-in and electronic voting at the National Assembly's Special Committee on Political Reform in April, but a bipartisan agreement has not yet been reached.

According to the Ministry, of the approximately 7 million overseas Koreans worldwide, around 2.4 million are overseas citizens holding Korean nationality. Among them, the number of eligible voters is estimated at about 2 million. Under the current system, overseas voters must visit designated diplomatic missions in person, which means many have to travel long distances depending on where they live—a problem that has been repeatedly raised. There have also been concerns about fairness and security in introducing mail-in and electronic voting. The NEC maintains a cautious stance, citing the possibility of false or proxy registrations and differences between countries' postal systems for mail-in voting, and variations in telecommunication environments and hacking risks for electronic voting.

However, Minister Kim pointed out, "For domestic absentee voting, mail-in ballots have already been introduced, and Korean crew onboard deep-sea fishing vessels are voting by fax from the ships," adding, "Political parties have also used mobile voting to elect their leadership and candidates for public office." He went on, "There are no technical issues. Only a decision by the National Assembly remains," and expressed hope, "I expect the National Assembly will make the necessary decision at this regular session to safeguard the voting rights of the 7 million overseas Koreans—and especially the 2 million eligible overseas voters."

Meanwhile, the Ministry's budget proposal for 2027 is set at 136.9 billion won, an increase of 24.2 billion won (21.4%) compared to this year’s 112.7 billion won. This is the largest increase since the Ministry was established in 2023. In particular, the budget for strengthening Korean language schools is increasing from 19.5 billion won this year to 25.5 billion won next year, up by 6 billion won (30.3%). The Ministry expects the government’s average support ratio for 1,472 Korean language schools worldwide to rise from 26% to about 30%. The ministry aims to raise this support to as much as 50% in the mid- to long-term.

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