140,000 foreigners can vote in April 2 by-elections, 81 percent are Chinese

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140,000 foreigners can vote in April 2 by-elections, 81 percent are Chinese

Published: 19 Mar. 2025, 17:11

CHO JUNG-WOO
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

An election staffer tallies ballots at a gymnasium in Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul, after polls closed for the eight local elections on June 1, 2022. [YONHAP]

Around 140,000 foreign residents will be eligible to vote in the upcoming April 2 by-elections, according to parliamentary data.

According to a document obtained by People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Kim Mi-ae from the National Assembly Budget Office on Tuesday, a total of 140,100 foreign residents without Korean citizenship had voting rights as of January.

Among them, Chinese nationals accounted for the largest share 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.

Under the Public Official Election Act, foreign residents over 18 who have held permanent residency for at least three years can vote in local elections. However, they are not allowed to participate in presidential or general elections.

According to the National Assembly Budget Office, the number of eligible foreign voters has surged since their voting rights were first introduced in the fourth local elections in 2006. The figure stood at 6,700 in 2006, rising to 48,400 in 2014, 106,200 in 2018 and 127,600 in 2022. This year, the number increased by some 12,000 compared to the 2022 local elections.

Last year, 14,600 foreigners acquired Korean nationality through naturalization or reinstatement. Among them, 56.8 percent, or 6,200 people, were Chinese nationals. Another 26.8 percent, or 3,000 people, were Vietnamese nationals.

According to the National Election Commission, election campaigns for the April 2 by-elections are set to begin on Thursday. The elections will determine the new education superintendent for Busan, as well as city mayors and district chiefs in several regions, including Guro District in northern Seoul, Asan in South Chungcheong, Damyang County in South Jeolla and Gimcheon in North Gyeongsang.

Conservative politicians have called for restrictions on foreign residents' voting rights.

Former PPP chief Han Dong-hoon raised the issue during a meeting with Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung last September, arguing that granting such rights "goes against the principle of reciprocity." Han pointed out that, unlike other countries, Korea "does not have a residency requirement" and that "once granted, voting rights are held permanently."

Gov't considers stripping foreign permanent residents of right to vote

Voting rights for foreign residents in Korea were first introduced under the Roh Moo-hyun administration in 2005, partly to encourage Japan to grant voting rights to ethnic Koreans residing there. However, neither Japan nor China currently grants suffrage to foreign residents.

Last October, PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong proposed a bill to amend the Public Official Election Act and the National Assembly Act to impose stricter requirements for granting voting rights. The proposed changes would grant voting rights in local elections only to foreign residents who have lived in Korea for at least five years after obtaining permanent residency and only if their home countries grant voting rights to Korean nationals living there.

BY SUNG JI-WON, CHO JUNG-WOO [[email protected]]