National Election Commission of the Republic of Korea

2022 Online International Election Observation Programme (IEOP) for the 20th Presidential Election

National Election Commission of the Republic of Korea organized on Wednesday 9^th March 2022 the 2022 Online International Election Observation Programme (IEOP) for the 20^th Presidential Election in order to introduce the electoral system of the Republic of Korea as well as broadcast real-time voting and counting procedures of the election.

While the 2022 IEOP was held online to avoid the spread of the coronavirus, the online event was successfully held with 161 participants brought together including experts and election officials from electoral management bodies and international organizations with the responsibilities in the field such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODHIR), the League of Arab States and Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. At the same time, the online conference gathered election officials on behalf of 22 different election management bodies from countries including Uganda, Peru, Pakistan, Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Nigeria, Thailand, Tanzania, Bangladesh, India, Angola, Georgia, Mexico, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Romania, Belarus, Bhutan, and Brazil.

The online streaming videos aired during the event presented not only the electoral system of the Republic of Korea but also the harsh and difficult history of our democracy overshadowed by several electoral frauds and military dictatorships. The audiovisual accounts helped Korean experience and knowledge on improving our democracy to be shared with electoral officials from different electoral management bodies around the world.

The setting of the event was formed just like a talk show between news anchor and panel and many participants praised it for being as if they watched prime time news from a broadcasting station. Especially, Giorgi Kalandarishvili Chairperson of Georgia’s Central Election Commission gave a remark to show appreciation for our Commission to provide an opportunity to attend to this event and to express his confidence in our Commission successfully managing the conduct of the Presidential Election.

Many election officials and election experts who participated in the event has expressed a deep interest in the voting and counting procedures and the computerized electoral management system including but not limited to an Optical Ballot Counting and Sorting Machine as well as disinfections measures put into effect to prevent the spread of the virus during the conduct of the election.

National Election Commission of the Republic of Korea will endeavor in the future to strengthen international knowledge exchange and technical cooperation with election management bodies and contribute to the development of world democracy.