What comes to mind when you hear voting in Korea?

In case you don’t know, the voting aspect of elections in Korea is one of the smoothest and most technologically advanced in the world. If you come from a country where ballots are counted by hand, or where the line to vote is miles long like mine, you will probably find Korea's election process to be quite remarkable.

Now, this is everything you should know about the Korean voting system.

Early Voting

One of the biggest differences is that early voting (사전투표, sajeon-tupyo) plays a larger role in the voting system. Rather than waiting for one big day and casting your vote, Koreans can vote two days ahead of time, at any polling station in the country. Regardless of where you live or where you happen to be visiting at the time, you can walk into a polling booth, show your ID, and vote. This makes it extremely easy to vote, which is likely a contributing factor to the increase in voter turnout and helps ease the chaos that comes with election day. In fact, in 2022, more than a third of Korean voters utilized the early voting option, a record high number in the country, as it is clearly an attractive option.

Election Day

On Election Day itself, you're not permitted to vote where you want to. Election officials want to make sure that there are no duplicate votes and that local votes are local. So you need to vote at the polling station assigned to you, based on your registered address. No need to worry, it’s very efficient. You show your resident registration card (or other approved ID), take your ballots, stamp your choice, and you're done.

The Famous Stamp

Remember, I said “stamp your choice” earlier? That is because in Korea, you make your choice using an official red stamp. This way, they can't argue over how “clear enough” a pen mark was, and it makes counting much faster. Also, selfies are not allowed in the booth, because you are not permitted to bring your phones.

Two-Vote Rule

But here is where Korea is different: people don't just vote for a person because they get two separate ballots: One for a district or person representing your neighborhood or city area, and one for a political party (to determine proportional representation in the National Assembly).

Who Gets to Vote?

All Korean citizens aged 18 and older are eligible to vote. But foreign residents with permanent residency (F-5 visa) for 3 years or more can register to vote as long as they reaffirm their residency each year, but only in local elections. This means expats can still participate in selecting a mayor, governor, and regional legislature members, but not president or national assembly.

Speedy Counting and Results

Another thing to mention about voting in Korea is that you do not have to wait for days to find out the results. They get results within the same day after polling and validation closing using electronic systems and automated counting. Usually, right after the last poll closes, results are recorded and are known by midnight on election day.

To be honest, Korea's voting model is efficient, accessible, and transparent.

For foreigners (like me) who are accustomed to lines a mile long, unnecessary ink on their fingers, and weeks of counting drama, they may likely consider the Korean system easy because I do.

Now tell me, which of these facts about the Korean voting system do you find amusing?