Eligible permanent residents allowed to vote under Korean law; Guro-gu and Yeongdeungpo-gu home to many foreign voters
Polling stations in Guro-gu and Yeongdeungpo-gu — two Seoul districts with large foreign resident populations — saw a steady stream of foreign voters turning out Tuesday. Many others, unfamiliar with how the local voting system works, showed up at the wrong polling station and had to be turned away. At least one grew frustrated and left shouting profanities.
Tuesday afternoon, foreign nationals holding permanent residency came to the Daerim 2-dong Community Service Center in Yeongdeungpo-gu to cast their ballots in the election.
Chinese-language signs outnumbered Korean ones in the area around the community center. "Quite a few permanent residents from China come here," a polling station worker said.
Under South Korean law, foreign nationals are eligible to vote if they are 18 or older as of election day, have held permanent residency status for at least three years, and are registered on the foreign resident registry of the local government where they live.
Lee Byeong-su, 59, originally from Jilin Province in China, pulled out his permanent residency card to show a reporter. "I'm not a Korean citizen, but the very fact that I can vote is something I'm proud of," he said. Lee, who works in construction, said he appreciates being able to earn a living in Korea. "The treatment of ethnic Koreans from China has improved, and there are more government benefits now," he added.
Some foreign voters were turned away after arriving at the wrong location. A 67-year-old surnamed Kim, a resident of Daerim 3-dong, had mistakenly come to the Daerim 2-dong Community Service Center and was visibly flustered when told they were in the wrong place.
Kim said they planned to vote for whoever looks after Daerim 3-dong best. "I hope policies come out that help people earn more money," Kim said. Kim also joked about wanting to obtain Korean citizenship but finding memorizing the national anthem for the naturalization test too difficult.
"A lot of people come to the wrong place without checking," a polling station worker said. The narrow entrance became congested as staff showed voters maps and directed them to their assigned stations. During the roughly one hour a reporter spent at the polling station, about half of the voters who arrived were unable to enter.
Permanent residents also turned out in numbers at the Garibong-dong Community Service Center in Guro-gu, where a banner in both Korean and Chinese greeted visitors.
Kim Bong-su, 68, who left China and has lived in Garibong-dong for 26 years, said he obtained permanent residency seven years ago. "I couldn't vote in the last presidential election because of personal circumstances — this is my first time voting as a permanent resident," he said. "We ethnic Koreans don't vote based on party. We vote based on the person," he added. "A candidate's ability is what matters most to us."
Around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at a polling station in Yeongdeungpo-gu, a voter told he had come to the wrong location responded by shouting profanities, yelling "I'm not voting," and storming off.
Some Korean residents also voiced opposition to foreign voting rights. Lee Seung-uk, 35, who has lived in Daerim-dong for five years, said the neighborhood needs to change significantly. "This is our country, but it feels like foreigners have more of a voice here. Letting foreigners vote makes no sense. It's frustrating in many ways," he said.
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, the National Election Commission put the nationwide voter turnout at 54.7 percent.
20ki@heraldcorp.com
