Independent candidate Kim Hyun-tae (left), running in Incheon's Gyeyang B district in the June 3 by-election, and YouTuber Jeon Han-gil, a former Korean history lecturer, greet passersby on a street in Gyeyang-gu, Incheon, on May 19. [Yonhap]
Independent candidate Kim Hyun-tae (left), running in Incheon's Gyeyang B district in the June 3 by-election, and YouTuber Jeon Han-gil, a former Korean history lecturer, greet passersby on a street in Gyeyang-gu, Incheon, on May 19. [Yonhap]

Independent candidate Kim Hyun-tae, running in the Incheon Gyeyang B National Assembly by-election, will be unable to cast a ballot for himself because his registered address falls outside the district.

According to the National Election Commission, Kim's registered address is listed on Eosadae-ro in Gyeyang-gu, Incheon — a street that falls within the Gyeyang A electoral district, not the Gyeyang B district where he is running. Gyeyang B covers Gyesan 2-dong, Gyesan 4-dong, Jakjeon Seoun-dong and Gyeyang 1 through 3-dong, none of which include his address.

Under South Korean election law, candidates may run in any constituency regardless of where they live, but voting rights are granted only to residents of that district. As a result, Kim cannot vote in the very race he entered.

Kim commanded the Army Special Warfare Command's 707th Special Mission Group during former President Yoon Suk Yeol's Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration, when his unit was deployed to the main National Assembly building to carry out operations. Dismissed from his post in January, he entered the Gyeyang B by-election for the seat previously held by President Lee Jae Myung.


joze@heraldcorp.com