On June 13, 2018 the NEC held the 7th nationwide simultaneous local elections, with thousands of regional and local positions being put up for a vote. Here in the Administration and International Affairs Division we were not involved directly with the management of the election, but we were focused on using these elections as a focal point to increase exchange and cooperation with other election management bodies and our partner international organizations.
During the election period the NEC hosted
two main international events. The first was the International Election
Observation Program, with the NEC inviting over 50 participants from 23
election management bodies and international organizations from around the
world. Alongside their observation
program, the participants also took part in the second of our main
international events, the 2018 Seoul International Forum on Elections, during
which over 100 election officials, experts and academics debated three of the
key issues in election management.
Lets’ look at the two events in more
detail!
2018 International Election Observation Program
Lasting from June 7 to June 14, the
program allowed the participants to observe and experience the main parts of
the elections system here in Korea. On the opening day, there was an
introduction to the Korean election system from one of our professors at the
Korean Civic Education Institute for Democracy (KOCEI) and a mock early voting
and counting experience. The NEC setup mock polling and counting stations in
the hotel, making it easier for participants to ask questions and gain a better
understanding of the voting and counting systems as well as the equipment used
during elections. This was backed up by observing elections the following day
to see the process in action.
Throughout the week, there was also an
opportunity to visit to the main institutions involved in Korean elections and democracy
including the NEC, KOCEI, and the National Assembly. The main day of the
program was of course election day itself on June 13, and the participants were
split into groups of 10 at most. This meant everyone could fit into polling and
counting stations and cause no disturbance to voters and election management
staff, and all participants were able to go to four different polling stations
during the day to give a well-rounded view of events during the day. For the
brave souls that work up at 5am and get to the polling stations by 5:50am, they
were also able to view the preparation and opening of polling stations. Despite
busy polling stations and a relatively high turnout for local elections of
60.2%, it was possible for everyone to have space to take in each part of the
voting process.
We ended the program with an excellent
exchange of experiences and views on June 14 morning, with each team presenting
on what they found over the program and giving feedback on their personal
experiences. This helped everyone to have an overall view on the week and it
was helpful for the NEC to get some feedback from other election management
experts from around the world.
The full schedule for the week looked like
this:
June 7
(Thu)
|
June 8
(Fri)
|
June 9 (Sat)
|
June 10 (Sun)
|
June 11 (Mon)
|
June 12 (Tue)
|
June 13 (Wed)
|
June 14 (Thu)
|
|
Morning
|
Participants
Arrived and Registered
|
Opening
ceremony and Introduction to the Korean Election System
|
Observed
Early Voting Polling Stations
|
Rest
Day
|
Participated
in the Seoul International Forum on Elections
|
Cultural
Activities
|
Observed
the opening of polling stations
|
Closing
briefing
|
After
noon
|
Mock
Early Voting
|
Visited
the NEC and KOCEI Main Offices
|
Visited
National Assembly
|
Observed
polling stations during voting and counting stations in the evening
|
Participants
departed
|
2018 Seoul International Forum on
Elections
The Seoul International Forum on Elections
has become a growing event on the international calendar of international
election management bodies. This year it was held at the Le Meridien Hotel
Seoul on June 11, 4 days into our observation program. This forum was become a
place for established experts in the field to come together to discuss these
issues, share ideas and debate how to make elections around the world cleaner,
fairer and more inclusive. This year was the largest forum to date and included
a very exciting cultural show at the end of the evening for all the guests.
We would like to thank the nine presenters
that spoke at the forum from election management bodies and international
organizations from around the world. There was an
excellent diversity of speakers who represented different views on
each topic, and the audience engaged with a number of interesting questions and
points throughout the day. In
particular, there were a lot of questions for Facebook’s representative Katie
Harbath on the hot-button issue of so-called ‘fake news’ and we hope that everyone was able to pick up something new during the day.
The audience was made up of participants
in our observation program and election officials and academics based in Korea.
We were delighted the hall was packed out and that so many people were able to
ask questions and put their views forward.
The full schedule was as follows:
Time
|
Schedule
|
Speakers
|
09:30 – 10:00
|
Opening
Ceremony
|
Opening Remarks:
Kwon Soon-il
(NEC Chairperson)
Congratulatory
Remarks:
Michael
Reiterer (Ambassador-designate and Head of the Delegation of the European Union to
the Republic of Korea)
Edwin C.
Sagurton, Jr. (Charge D’Affairs from the US
Embassy Seoul)
|
10:00 – 12:00
|
Measures to
Expand Participation in Elections by Socially Marginalized Groups
|
Moderator:
Kim Dong-beom
(Secretary General, Korea Differently Abled Federation)
Presenters:
1. Christopher Wyrod (Deputy Country Director of Indonesia, Asia Foundation)
2. Jeffrey Karp (Professor at Brunel
University and Senior Research Fellow, Electoral Integrity Project)
3. Laura Villalba (Election Consultant, including for the U.S. Federal
Election Commission)
|
12:00 – 13:30
|
Lunch
|
|
13:30 – 15:30
|
Fake News:
The Effects on Elections and Measures to Prevent It
|
Moderator:
Jeong Se-hoon
(Professor, Korea University School of Media and Communication)
Presenters:
1. Hwang Yongsuk (Director of the Digital Communication Research Center and
Professor, Konkuk University Department of Media and Communication)
2. Katie Harbath (Global Politics and Government Outreach Director,
Facebook)
3. Om Prakash Rawat (Chief Election Commissioner of India)
|
15:30 – 16:00
|
Break
|
|
16:00 – 18:00
|
Ways to
Promote Cooperation Between Election-related Organizations from Around the
World
|
Moderator:
Lee Jong-hee (Professor, Korean Civic
Education Institute for Democracy)
Presenters:
1. Al A. Parreno (Chairperson of the Philippines Commission on Elections and
the Association of Asian Election Authorities)
2. Laura Matjošaitytė (Chairperson of the Central Election Commission of
Lithuania and President of the Association of European Election Officials)
3. Melene Glynn (Specialist in the Department of Electoral Cooperation and
Observation, Organization of American States)
4. Youn Dae-rak (Director of the Administration and International Affairs
Division, National Election Commission of the Republic of Korea)
|
18:20 Onwards
|
Welcome
Dinner and Cultural Event
|
Thank you to everyone that participated in
all the events, we look forward to continued partnership with our colleagues
involved in elections from around the world!
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