South Korea Considers Curb on Voting Rights of Foreign Residents to Deter Communist China From Meddling in Local Elections

In South Korea, 80 percent of foreign resident votes are in Chinese hands

A woman casts her vote for nationwide local elections to elect mayors, governors, local council members and regional education chiefs at a polling station in Seoul on June 1, 2022. Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images

South Korean policymakers are considering tightening the rights of foreigners to vote in local elections following concerns of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence.

On Dec. 6, Kweon Seong-dong, a member of the South Korean People Power Party, expressed concerns over CCP interference in elections in Australia and Canada which provoked diplomatic problems, fearing a similar situation could happen in South Korea.

“To maintain and operate a liberal democratic system, the electoral system must not be maliciously exploited,” Kweon wrote on his Facebook page. He is also a close associate of President Yun Seok-yeol.

Kweon put forward to congress on Dec. 5 an act entitled Mutualism Fair Election. The bill proposes to grant local election rights only to foreigners who have lived in South Korea for at least five years after obtaining permanent residence, and the home countries of these foreigners must grant the same election rights to South Koreans residing there.

If the bill is passed, it is expected that up to 100,000 Chinese living in South Korea will be disqualified from voting in local elections. According to the principle of mutualism, South Korea cannot give Chinese residents in South Korea the right to vote as China does not allow South Koreans living in China to vote.

Data by Central Election Commission showed that of the more than 120,000 foreign voters in the June 1 local elections this year, about 100,000 were Chinese, a fairly high portion of 83 percent.

Since 2005, foreigners who have obtained permanent residency in South Korea are entitled to vote in local elections, such as elections for mayors, governors, local council members, and other officials, after three years of residence in South Korea, as stipulated by South Korean election practice.

‘Violates Principle of Mutualism’

Most South Korean citizens living abroad do not have the right to vote in the countries where they live. “In communist countries like China, it is obviously even more impossible to vote, and the United States and the United Kingdom only give their citizens the right to vote,” Kweon said.

He pointed out that South Korea’s current public election law “violates the principle of mutualism among nations.”

South Korean election officials count ballots for the nationwide local elections to elect mayors, governors, local council members, and regional education chiefs at a gymnasium in Seoul on June 1, 2022. Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images

Earlier on Dec. 1, Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon raised the need to revise the system of voting rights for foreigners in local elections, saying that “giving foreigners the right to vote without considering the principle of mutualism may distort public opinion.”

In an interview with Korean media outlet The JoongAng on Dec. 5, Han said, “I think it is in the national interest and common sense to embody reciprocity in the provisions of the voting rights of foreigners.”

There are two ways to realize the mutualism of foreigners’ voting rights in South Korea. The most explicit way is to amend the public election law, as some overseas countries do, to deny foreign permanent residents the right to vote. But this will be achieved through parliamentary legislation.

Since 2020, South Korea erupted in a wave of anti-communist sentiment when more than 210,000 South Koreans petitioned the Moon Jae-in government, demanding denying Chinese permanent residents the right to vote in local elections, citing Chinese residents dominate 80 percent of foreigners’ voting rights, which means “opening the door to Chinese [the CCP] involvement in South Korean elections,” the petitioners said.

However, the petition was rejected by the Moon Jae-in government on the grounds that the electoral system should follow “the universality of democracy.”

In addition, another way to apply the mutualism of foreigners’ voting rights is to amend the Immigration Control Act with more restrictions on the voting right of foreign permanent residents. This is also a legislative case that needs to propose a bill to the Ministry of Justice.

The Justice Ministry is considering those routes. Specifically, it is discussing the option of introducing the condition of an obligatory period of stay for permanent residents. The government has also proposed a bill that would deprive permanent residents of their right to vote if they stay outside South Korea for more than a certain period of time, according to a Dec. 6 report of The JoongAng.