Overseas Deployment Units to Hold Overseas Voting for 21st Presidential Election Until May 25

Four Overseas Deployment Units and Individually Deployed Troops in 11 Countries Eligible for Voting

The South Korean military will conduct overseas voting to ensure the voting rights of troops deployed abroad ahead of the 21st presidential election.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced on May 23 that overseas voting for troops deployed abroad will be held over five days, until May 25.

The eligible participants include four overseas deployment units: the Hanbit Unit (South Sudan), Dongmyeong Unit (Lebanon), Akh Unit (UAE), and Cheonghae Unit (Gulf of Aden, Somalia). In addition, troops deployed individually in 11 countries are eligible: the United States, Germany, Israel, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, India, Pakistan, Western Sahara, Lebanon, and South Sudan.

The Hanbit Unit in South Sudan (May 22) and the Dongmyeong Unit in Lebanon (May 24), both deployed as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UN PKO), will set up polling stations within their bases to conduct voting. The Akh Unit, deployed to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of military cooperation (May 20-21), will vote at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the UAE. The Cheonghae Unit, operating in the Gulf of Aden, Somalia (May 24-25), will vote at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Oman.

For the Hanbit and Dongmyeong Units, polling stations are operated within the bases, and observers from the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the National Election Commission have been dispatched. For individually deployed troops (May 20-25), voting is conducted at overseas diplomatic missions in each country, following the same procedures as for overseas Korean nationals.

Meanwhile, the deployed units are actively supporting election-related tasks requested by the National Election Commission, including ensuring conditions for prior overseas absentee registration, to guarantee the voting rights of the troops. In addition, they are operating a period emphasizing the practice of fair elections to maintain political neutrality.