The prospect of South Korea allowing 18-year-olds to vote has brightened Wednesday after four of the five political parties, controlling an absolute majority of the parliament, agreed to push for it.
A newly-minted conservative party -- tentatively named the New Conservative Party for Reform, decided in a party meeting early Wednesday to join the campaign, led by three liberal opposition parties, to amend the country’s election law that grants suffrage to those 19 years old or older.
“All our members agree to support the suggested lowering of the minimum voting age to 18. We will further discuss the details as soon as possible,” Rep. Choung Byoung-gug told the reporters after the meeting at the National Assembly.
The law should be revised in the coming parliamentary session so that the change can apply to this year‘s presidential election, he added.
Currently, Korean law bans those 18 years old or younger from casting ballots and joining political parties.
Several bills, proposed by liberal lawmakers and aimed at lowering the minimum voting age, are currently pending at the parliament.
On Tuesday, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea vowed to revise the election law to allow 18-year-olds to participate in the coming presidential election.
“Among OECD member states, Korea is the only nation stipulating voting rights at 19. The level of political awareness of our teens do not fall behind those of other countries,” floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Rep. Woo Sang-ho said.
Currently, 33 member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development grant suffrage to those 18 years and older, with Austria at the age of 16.
The ruling Saenuri Party is yet to clear out it stance, but its lawmakers have previously voiced opposition to the idea, describing teenagers as being too immature to vote.
Four parties that advocate suffrage to 18-year-olds have enough votes -- 171 -- to railroad the measure, while the ruling Saenuri has only 99. The New Conservative Party -- one and the newest of the four opposition groups -- consists of 30 lawmakers who broke away from Saenuri recently.
This year’s presidential election is expected to be held earlier than expected depending on the outcome of the impeachment trial of President Park Geun-hye. If the motion passes to expand the voting demographics, the number of young voters is likely to affect the election results as recent polls show high approval rate of liberal parties from young voters.
President Park Geun-hye who has been involved in an influence-peddling scandal with her confidante Choi Soon-sil awaits her fate as the Constitutional Court examines her impeachment motion.
