Democratic Citizenship Education Through Youth Mock Voting in the Presidential Election

Lee Jae-myung 48%, Yoon Seok-yeol 24.8%, Shim Sang-seong 9.3%

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Jae-kyung] In the mock youth voting for the 20th presidential election conducted by the Korea YMCA National Federation 2022 Youth Suffrage Expansion Movement Headquarters, Lee Jae-myung, the candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, ranked first.

On the 10th, a mock vote was conducted targeting 18-year-old youths, and among the total 7,381 voters, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea received 48% of the votes, totaling 3,540 votes, which was similar to the actual presidential election vote rate.

Yoon Seok-youl, the candidate of the People Power Party, received 24.8%, and Sim Sang-jung, the candidate of the Justice Party, received 9.3% respectively.

In this presidential election youth mock vote, anyone under the age of 18, who does not have actual voting rights, could participate, and although the winner differed from the actual elected candidate, the significance was great as it was democratic citizenship education involving youth participation.

A youth who participated in the mock vote said, “It has become an era where youth participation can change the world,” and added, “Now, I hope for a happy Republic of Korea where the voting age is lowered to 16 and the election age for education superintendents is reduced so that youth opinions are reflected.”

Meanwhile, in Mokpo, offline polling stations were operated at Hadang Youth Culture Center and Mokpo City Youth Culture Center, and mobile polling stations were set up at Hadang Rose Street and Hadang Peace Square. Additionally, online voting was simultaneously conducted for youths who found it difficult to participate on-site due to COVID-19.