Attention is turning to whether a long-standing grievance in the Korean diaspora — the difficulty of exercising voting rights from abroad — may finally be addressed, following a presidential policy briefing that put the issue squarely on the agenda.
Kim Gyeong-hyeop, commissioner of the Overseas Koreans Agency, told President Lee Jae-myung at a recent joint briefing by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the agency, held at Cheong Wa Dae's state guesthouse, that the agency aims to introduce postal and electronic voting by 2028.
Under current law, overseas Koreans may only vote in presidential and National Assembly elections. With the agency pushing to introduce postal and electronic voting — a long-sought goal of the diaspora — the new system, if adopted, would most likely take effect at the 23rd general election in 2028.
The agency has worked to build public consensus in support of expanding polling stations and introducing postal and electronic voting.
In March, it hosted a National Assembly forum to convey the limitations of the current system and the diaspora's desire to participate to the National Election Commission and Assembly members. In April, it succeeded in placing postal and electronic voting on the agenda of the Assembly's Special Committee on Political Reform for the first time.
A video the agency posted to its YouTube channel in April, titled "Voting Is Really Hard," has racked up 380,000 views. The clip contrasts the journey an overseas Korean must make to cast a ballot with that of a domestic voter.
It shows side by side a family in Phuket, Thailand, driving 800 kilometers through the night to reach a polling station, and a domestic voter strolling 800 meters to theirs. The video conveys the frustration of overseas Koreans who cannot participate because of the burdensome conditions, then calls for the introduction of postal and electronic voting, closing with the message: "The distance may differ, but a vote carries the same weight."
The video was based on a real story. Jeong Cheol-in, a resident of Phuket, traveled 800 kilometers to Bangkok to vote in the 2024 general election — a round trip of 1,600 kilometers, equivalent to four trips between Seoul and Busan.
According to a report by the National Assembly Research Service, most major OECD member states have actively adopted various remote voting methods — including postal, proxy and electronic voting — to maximize voter accessibility. Of the OECD's 38 member countries, 36 operate overseas voting systems, and 22 of those offer multiple voting methods in addition to in-person balloting.
Postal voting, adopted by 28 OECD countries, is the most common remote voting system. It uses double-envelope systems and handwritten signatures or witness requirements to protect ballot secrecy and ensure reliability. Some US states have eliminated uncertainty in the delivery process through digital tracking platforms that provide real-time updates from the moment a ballot is sent until it is received.
Electronic voting refers broadly to any system in which voters cast ballots or ballots are counted through electronic means. Estonia was the first country in the world to introduce internet voting — known as i-Voting — allowing citizens to vote without constraints of time or place. The system permits voters to change their vote any number of times during the voting period, with only the final vote counted, a design intended to minimize coercion and vote-buying.
The National Assembly Research Service cautioned, however, that while remote voting "can dramatically improve ballot access for overseas Koreans, it must be carefully designed so that three core values — security, ballot secrecy and transparency in election administration — are realized in a mutually complementary way" to ensure the fairness and integrity of elections.
At the briefing held Wednesday, President Lee said overseas Koreans have a strong desire to vote but face conditions that are "far too poor." He noted that in some cases a polling station may be hundreds of kilometers away, requiring voters to cross into another country.
"Not giving people a proper opportunity to exercise their sovereignty feels like a dereliction of duty by the state," Lee said. "We need to find a way and work closely with the relevant agencies."
In response, Commissioner Kim said the agency is considering introducing postal voting first in countries with established postal infrastructure, while expanding polling stations in those without. "Electronic voting technology has also advanced to the point where it is technically feasible through identity verification methods," he added.
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