Council of Europe - Venice Commission

KOREA - Public Offical Election Act

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Article 218

(Application for Registration of Overseas Electors)

(1) An elector who has not been registered as a resident nor filed a report on his/her residence in the Republic of Korea but intends to exercise his/her voting right in a foreign country shall file an application for the registration of an overseas elector with the National Election Commission by any of the following methods during a period beginning on 150 days before the election day and ending on 60 days before the election day of each presidential election and each election of proportional representative National Assembly members (hereafter referred to as “period for filing an application for the registration of an overseas elector” in this CHAPTER):

1. Filing a written application with a diplomatic or consular mission in person. In such cases, a citizen of the Republic of Korea may file an application for the registration of an overseas elector on behalf of his/her family members (referring to his/her spouse and lineal ascendants and descendants of his/her own and his/her spouse), and the person who files an application on behalf of his/her family members shall submit a copy of his/her passport along with the application;

2. Filing a written application in person with a diplomatic or consular mission’s employee who travels around its jurisdiction. The latter part of subparagraph 1 shall apply to such cases mutatis mutandis;

3. Filing an application by e-mail.

(2) Any person who intends to file an application for registration of an overseas elector pursuant to paragraph (1) 1 or 2 shall write matters under the following subparagraphs in the application, and attach a copy of any documents publicly notified under paragraph (3) by an overseas returning officer of the mission having jurisdiction over his/her area of residence. In this case, the original copies of his/her passport and the documents publicly notified by the overseas returning officer shall be presented therewith, and the returning officer shall not accept any application for registration of an overseas elector made by an applicant who fails to present the original copies:

1. Name;
2. Passport number, date of birth and distinction of gender;
3. Last domestic address (in cases of a person who does not have the last domestic address, the basic place of registration under the Act on the Registration, etc. of Family Relationship);
4. Domicile.

(3) An overseas returning officer shall publicly notify the documents required to identify the nationality of an overseas elector, such as a visa, a certificate of permanent residentship, a certificate of long stay or a certificate of alien registration of his/her residing country, 30 days prior to the beginning date of the period for application for registration of overseas electors.

(4) A person who intends to file an application for the registration of an overseas elector by the method specified in paragraph (1) 3 shall enter the matters specified in subparagraphs of paragraph (2) in the application and shall attach to the application a copy of his/her passport and copies of the documents publicly announced by the official in charge of overseas voting management pursuant to paragraph (3) in the diplomatic or consular mission having jurisdiction over the area in which he/she resides.

(5) Article 218-4 (3) and (4) shall apply mutatis mutandis to application for the registration of an overseas elector. In such cases, the term “report on an overseas absentee” shall be construed as “application for the registration of an overseas elector”, the term “an official in charge of overseas voting management or the head of a Gu/Si/Gun” as “official in charge of overseas voting management”, and the term “report on an overseas absentee” as “application for the registration of an overseas elector”.

[This Article Newly Inserted by Act No. 9466, Feb. 12, 2009]