Guess what? Who does not have the right to vote? 1. People who has denizenship. 2. Minister of Washington D.C from the Republic of Korea. 3. People who are educated in Paris. The answer is........
None of them has the right to vote. All are out of franchise on constitution of the Republic of Korea. The word 'franchise' is not a kind of word only for economic system like junky food corp's marketing, but it's rather a political word. Franchise is the right to take part in gov-authorization as citizen. For example, vote, eligibility to election, right to be a gov-service employee, etc. Overseas-brethren are the same civil as those who are in the motherland though they do not live there. Because 'dictum' the civil means (as follow the viewpoints of virtuoso of constitutional experts in history)
One of line up of 'nation' which could control by assembly of authority of motherland's. But so sorry to say, only the nation called 'Korea' never give right to vote to oversea-brothers among the O.E.C.D nations.
Korean nationals abroad can not have voting right
An election administration commission estimates that about 6 million koreans are living abroad. But they do not vote. Who have citizenship in Korea are about 2.7million. Among those who do not have the right to vote, 0.92 million, people have denizenship are 1.95 million. In total, 2.27 million people.(as a basis of research, Jan, 2003) the reason is that the election law in Korea does not allow them to vote. Election laws in Korea Republic allow the person who has the right to vote if they are enlisted citizenship in Korea for over 20 years. To say that again, who have the right to vote is someone who have such purpose to live over 30 days so that they may have an address or citizenship on their residence.
And even for the immigration law's interpretation, to have citizenship, overseas-citizens must give up their denizenship f°³m their residence.Compared with other countries
Among the 30 nations of the O.E.C.D, Korea is the only nation that do not endow franchise to people who live abroad. For example Israel, Hungary, Turkey, Mexico do not impose franchise to people who are abroad on short-term as same the decision of the authorities of Korea. Otherwise, more then 15 countries like the U.S, Austria, Germany, etc, impose the right to vote to people with no restrictions added. In early days, Western people have international works, so most Western or Westernized countries have much interest emigrant-immigrant's right to vote. There were some errors but now they finalized the law about the right to vote flexibly so far as, some countries grant the suffrage to enfranchise to a person of dual nationality and to tourists.
France is the most advanced country to give the suffrage enfranchise to overseas citizens. The government of France make a polling place in foreign countries and organize electing managing institution. When the French native votes for someone, the French overseas can vote in the same day. And the government of France permit voting by proxy. The United States of America and most European nations assent to giving vote right to overseas citizens.
More recently, the government of Japan gave vote right to overseas citizens. And in 2003, the government of Italy also gave vote right to overseas citizens.
The government of China, Taiwan and North Korea also gave vote right to overseas citizens. These governments make election districts in foreign countries where their overseas citizen live. So, overseas citizen can participate in the election of members for the National Assembly. The successful candidate goes to their home government and join in their government's adminstration.
Effort to grant voting right to Korean nationals abroad
Jan 1997 people sued nowadays election law is out of justness. But in 1999 the assembly of constitution made it draw as impossible to change. Then the people made a lawsuit against the government. But this was also abandoned.
The reasons for the constitutional petition being denied were
1. The situation of Korea's division with different governments.
2. It's very hard to make justness on election.
3. The system that the Korean government have is not proper for good conditions of election.
4. Tax, military service are not imposed to overseas brethren, so they may not have the right to vote.
How do native and overseas Koreans think about voting right of Korean residents abroad?
Native's view
Last year, an Internet site conducted a survey about overseas people's right to vote' 2.74 million people was answered but over 70% did not agree to endow the right to vote to people who live abroad. The reason is that the people live in overseas are out of responsibility of tax, military service.
However both of them dispute aggressively about justness of each side.
The other side that who support right to vote to civil live in abroad, the law may control wider then the motherland area, so it's not righteous.Korean residents abroad's view
The reasons that overseas citizens need to vote
1. Most overseas brethren are the sad inheritance of the occupation by force of Japan. So, there must not be a distinction between motherland people and overseas
2. The identity of Korean people may be deserved by the right to vote.
3. Franchise' means civil's basic right.But not all overseas brethren need the right to vote. Some students who are studying abroad say that.
"if someone who lives abroad for over 10 years, how could he or she know Korea's situation?"
We want to live as citizens of Korea
Many Koreans do not know that 2.7 million of Korean residents in Japan do not have Japanese nationality but have Korean nationality, because they want to live as citizen of Korea. But they can not have voting right. Korean residents in Japan think that the best way of guarantee Korean identity is by obtaining voting rights.
By Lee Yun-ju
International reporter