Dogs at Korean election polling stations — in pictures

Social Affairs

Published: 18 Apr. 2024, 14:27 Updated: 18 Apr. 2024, 21:23

Dogs at Korean election polling stations — in pictures

A stalwart dog stands guard outside a polling station set up at a book cafe in Gangdong District in eastern Seoul as voters cast their ballots for the Korean general election on April 10. [NEWS1]

Koreans showed up in record numbers to polling stations in its recent general election.

On April 10, Korea saw a voter turnout of 67 percent, the highest in 32 years for parliamentary elections.

Of an eligible 44.28 million voters, some 29.66 million cast their ballots at 14,259 polling stations nationwide, according to the National Election Commission (NEC).

With about 13 million people raising pets in the country, it is no wonder many canine companions also turned up with their owners to polling stations across the country on Election Day.

While voters in Britain, Australia and other countries have joined in the popular social media trend of photographing dogs patiently waiting for their owners outside polling stations during elections, Korean dog owners brought their pets right inside polling stations, set up in a range of venues including welfare centers, schools, gymnasiums and even manhwa (Korean cartoon) cafes.

Here are some diligent dogs that showed up to the polls to carry out their civic duties, accompanying millions of Korean voters casting their ballots.

It’s doggie’s day out as this alert pup waits in a luxury ride parked outside the entrance of a polling station in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul, as voters cast their ballots for the Korean general election on April 10. [YONHAP]

A patient canine companion watches a voter inside a polling booth in Hannam-dong in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on April 10. [NEWS1]

This precious pup watches election officials check voters’ identification as they prepare to cast their precious ballots at a district office in Busan on April 10. [SONG BONG-GEUN]

And is a bit flabbergasted at Korea’s record long ballot papers coming in at a whopping 51.7 centimeters (20.3 inches) for the 2024 general election at a district office in Busan on April 10. [SONG BONG-GEUN]

With the love for pets in the country, rivaling political parties also made campaign pledges advocating companion animal rights and promising better benefits appealing to pet owners and ahead of the 2024 general election.

A dog joins her owner in the polling booth in Hannam-dong in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on April 10. [NEWS1]

She later sniffs a ballot box at a polling station in Hannam-dong in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on April 10. This ballot box gets transferred to a local tallying station after voting ends at 6 p.m. later that day. [NEWS1]

A watchful dog waits for his owner at a polling station for the general election at an education center in Hannam-dong in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on April 10. [YONHAP]

In its campaign pledges, the liberal Democratic Party (DP), which later had a landslide victory in the general election, called to "create a society where people and animals are happy together." It promised to revise the civil law that regards animals as objects, restrict the ownership and breeding rights of animal abusers and promote farm animal rights.

The People Future Party, a satellite party of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), focused on pledges to improve pet insurances, easing the burden of medical expenses for pet owners, including free vaccinations, and establishing education centers for pet adopters and making public pet funeral facilities.

The Rebuilding Korea Party, led by former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, which emerged as the third largest political party in the election, also promised animal welfare policies such as introducing late-night public animal clinics, more playgrounds for pets and making widely available pet care shelters nationwide for holidays and vacations.

A voter juggles his dog and leash in one hand and casts his ballot with the other at a polling station installed at an elementary school in Songpa District, southeastern Seoul, on April 10. [YONHAP]

This dog proudly finishes voting, or at least his owner did, and exits a polling station in Hannam-dong in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on April 10. [NEWS1]

In turn, a survey conducted by an animal rights group ahead of the election showed that 35.8 percent, or 250 of 699 local candidates that vied for the 254 directly elected seats in the 300-member National Assembly, made pledges related to animal welfare. These were mostly related to pets, rather than wild animals.

Some 6 million households in Korea had pets, specifically cats or dogs in 2022, or one in four households, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Likewise, 81.6 percent of respondents said they considered their pets as part of their families in a survey conducted by KB Management Institute, an affiliate of KB Financial Group, among people who had pets last year.

As voting is a family affair for many Koreans, with parents turning up with kids to show them the ballot-casting process, it could only be expected that many more pups will continue to accompany their humans to the polls for future elections.

This canine creature watches his owner cast an early vote on April 5, the first day of the two-day advance voting period, at a polling station at an assembly hall on Korea’s Jeju Island. [NEWS1]

Voters take commemorative photos of their polling pooch at an early voting station in Buk District in Gwangju on April 6, during the two-day advance voting period of the general election. [NEWS1]

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]