By Hyuncheon Kim
Translated SeungYeon Woo


The first Overseas Korean Election for electing the 19th Korean National Assemblyman is beginning on March 28 and will be continue for a week at the Boston Korean Consulate General. The polling place will be operated from 8AM to 5PM and it will be open at the same time on Saturday and Sunday.
Yang-ho Seo, one of the election administrators, requested that voters “bring a photo ID to prove their personal identification. Otherwise, they won’t be able to vote.”

This year’s first overseas Korean election will be operated differently depending on the status of overseas Korean voters. While the temporary residents, such as international students and resident reporters, are allowed to vote both for a National Assemblyman, for a local constituent, and for proportional representation, permanent residents can vote only for proportional representation.

Therefore, voters who are permanent residents will need to fill out one voting card with political parties’ names on it. On the other hand, overseas absentees will be receiving two voting cards, one with the names of National Assemblymen and the other with political parties’ names; thus, they vote for a National Assemblyman and for a political party on each card. Of course, the electors must present their photo ID in order to receive a ballot prior to voting.

The system of proportional representation is a voting system that assigns a certain number of Assemblymen depending on the voting rate of each political party. The final Assemblyman will be selected in the order of priority of each party’s number of votes among the candidates of the proportional representation.

Also, the Overseas Korean Election Committee of the Boston Korean Consulate General (The chairman: Yen Namkung) is providing the free parking lot for voters’ convenience during the election.
The parking lot at Crowne Plaza is located at 320 Washington St., Newton MA, 02458, near the Boston Korean Consulate General. When voters visit the Consulate General with a parking ticket, the committee members will then confirm the ticket after voting. The members are also planning to arrange a parking guide to provide even further convenience.

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ⓒ 보스톤코리아(http://www.bostonkorea.com), 무단전재 및 재배포 금지