A coalition of student councils rallied Thursday to urge lawmakers to pass a bill to lower the voting age to 18 from the current 19 within this month as the country marked the 58th anniversary of a 1960 pro-democracy civil uprising that led to the ousting of South Korea's first President Rhee Syngman.
Participating in the rally at a national cemetery in northern Seoul, where 199 people killed in the uprising are buried, the group of high school students and collegians said in a statement, "High school students took the lead in the April 19 Revolution and were instrumental in overthrowing the dictatorship of the Rhee government."
They urged that the lowering of the voting age is needed for youths to take part in the upcoming local elections. Thursday's rally came as South Korea is gearing up for the June 13 local elections, where mayors, governors, education superintendents and leaders of local councils will be chosen.
A group of high school students and collegians stages a rally in Seoul on Thursday to urge lawmakers to pass a bill aimed at lowering the voting age to 18 from the current 19. (Yonhap)
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