April 10, 22nd National Assembly Election Main Voting Day
Visit designated polling stations from 6 AM to 6 PM
Photography inside polling stations and online disclosure prohibited
If you take a photo of a marked ballot paper and upload it online, such as on social media, you may face imprisonment or fines. Acts such as deliberately damaging the ballot paper or causing disturbances at the polling station can also be punished under a zero-tolerance policy, so caution is required.
On the 10th, the National Election Commission provided guidelines for the 22nd National Assembly election voting day. First, this April 10 election will be held from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. You should visit the designated polling station within this time frame to vote. You can find your polling station location through the voting guide sent to each household or via the polling station locator service.
Bringing an ID when voting is mandatory. Acceptable IDs include your resident registration card, passport, driver’s license, or youth ID. IDs issued by government offices or public institutions that include your date of birth and photo are also recognized. For mobile IDs (such as mobile driver’s licenses or national certificates), the app must be launched and the photo, name, and date of birth verified. Images saved in advance through screenshots or similar means are not accepted as valid identification.
On the 8th, one day before the 20th presidential election, a Jongno-gu Office official is holding up a voting stamp at Cheongunhyoja-dong 3rd polling station set up in the Cheongunhyoja-dong Community Center in Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
Taking authentication photos inside the polling station is prohibited. According to Article 166-2 of the Public Official Election Act (Prohibition of photographing ballots, etc.), if you take photos of the ballot inside the voting booth and upload them to social media, you may be sentenced to up to two years in prison or fined up to 4 million won.
However, taking authentication photos outside the polling station is allowed. Using signs or photo zones installed at the entrance is also permitted. Posting or sending photos showing the number of the candidate you support by hand via the internet, SNS, or text messages is allowed. It is also acceptable to take photos with election posters or promotional materials as the background.
Illegal acts such as deliberately damaging ballot papers or causing disturbances at the polling station will be subject to legal action under a zero-tolerance policy. Specifically, anyone who assaults or threatens election commission staff, election workers, or others involved in election duties, or who damages, destroys, or steals ballot papers, may face imprisonment from one to ten years or fines ranging from 5 million to 30 million won.
On the afternoon of April 6, one day before the April 7 by-election, officials are setting up voting booths at Jangchung-dong No. 1 Polling Station located in Jangchung-dong Community Center, Jung-gu, Seoul. / 2021.04.06
If a voter damages the ballot paper by mistake, it cannot be reissued. Also, if marks are made between candidates, the ballot will be invalidated. For proportional representation ballots, marks made in the space between parties or overlapping marks on parties may also be invalidated, so caution is necessary. However, multiple marks in one candidate’s box are recognized as a valid vote. If a voter requests a ballot replacement after marking due to concerns about invalidation and exposes the ballot, the exposed ballot will be invalidated.
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