As the 19^th National Assembly sessions open from July 2 to select the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the National Assembly, the National Election Commission has decided to submit proposals to the National Assembly on July 2 for amending the Public Official Election Act to mainly include increasing participation by overseas Korean.

The National Election Commission has received feedback that they successfully conducted overseas voting held for the first time in the constitutional history. However opinions raised indicate low overseas voter turnout and participation restriction for overseas Koreans residing in countries where overseas missions are not installed have hindered guaranteeing voting rights of overseas Koreans which is the purpose of introducing the overseas voting system. Proposals for amending the Public Official Election Act have accordingly come up to guarantee overseas Koreans their voting rights as far as it ensure fairness.

Those proposals reflect issues grasped by overseas election officers dispatched to 55 major overseas missions as well as opinions raised by Korean residents and their associations in the foreign countries. Among the proposals are the introduction of permanent voters list and the granting of permission for families to submit application by proxy, which the NEC has made for the first time.

The proposals made by the NEC for revising the Public Official Election Act concerning overseas voting are as follows:

Firstly, the walk-around application system shall be introduced, apart from on-site applications, where overseas mission staff members appointed by overseas returning officers make a tour of their jurisdiction to collect applications.

Secondly, if there are more than 40,000 eligible voters in the constituency concerned, the Overseas Voting Commission shall install and operate extra overseas voting places.

Thirdly, the permanent voters list shall be introduced in overseas voting to enable overseas voters to maintain their voting rights once they are registered, unless unqualified for some reason.

Fourthly, spouses or lineal ascendants/descendants of overseas voters shall be allowed to submit applications by proxy.

Fifthly, limited postal voting shall be introduced to enable deployed soldiers or overseas Koreans residing in countries where overseas missions are not installed (including Taiwan and Palestine) to vote by mail.

Sixthly, overseas voters back in Korea who have missed out on overseas voting shall be entitled to vote at a designated voting place after being confirmed not to have voted while overseas.