= NEC grateful to overseas voters for exercising their right to vote in despite the spread of COVID-19 =

On April 10 the National Election Commission (NEC) of the Republic of Korea announced it has decided to carry out ballot counting on site at 18 diplomatic missions abroad, including the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Fiji. This is because there is no way to return overseas voting ballots to Korea due to the worldwide spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) halting all flights to and from the country in question. It is the first time that ballot counting has been conducted at diplomatic missions since the overseas election system was introduced and implemented in 2012.

The NEC closely discussed the safe return of overseas voting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, overseas missions, and transportation companies as flights were suspended or reduced due to the spread of COVID-19, but it was decided that 18 overseas missions would unavoidably have to count their ballots on site. 

The NEC prepared guidelines and manuals to ensure the accuracy and fairness of counting at diplomatic missions and has provided them to overseas missions. Also, the NEC will thoroughly manage the counting process in a safe manner, including disinfecting counting stations.  

In addition, it was announced that the ‘Overseas Election Situation Room’ which is being operated 24-hours a day will be changed to the ‘Diplomatic Mission Counting Situation Room’ until the end of the counting process in order to promptly respond to any issues related to the operation of counting at diplomatic missions. 

The ‘Diplomatic Mission Counting Situation Room’ will be organized into four teams and be made up of 23 people to actively support diplomatic missions that conduct counting.

Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the National Election Commission Kwon Soon-il said "the decision to suspend overseas election-related operations at 91 diplomatic missions in 55 countries was an unavoidable decision to fulfill the country''s obligation to protect overseas Koreans amid the COVID-19 global crisis."

"I would like to thank the overseas voters who exercised their right to vote amid difficulty in accessing polling stations, including the shortening of the voting period and the reduced additional polling stations and transport inconvenience, and the overseas election officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic missions for their efforts in preparing and managing overseas elections despite the difficulty of managing overseas elections in a normal way." 

In addition, he also said "we deeply regret some overseas Koreans were limited in their ability to exercise their right to vote, and we will actively improve the overseas voting system in an effective way so that overseas Koreans will not be inconvenienced in exercising their right to vote in future unforeseen circumstances such as the spread of COVID-19."

Diplomatic Missions that will Count Ballots On Site 

Diplomatic Mission Counting Process