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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

Barriers, more barriers... such unequal June 3 elections [Reading the World]

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Blind voters face significant barriers in South Korea's elections, including inadequate braille election materials and inaccessible polling stations.
  • Despite court rulings and recommendations, issues like limited braille pamphlet space and the lack of accessible voting equipment persist, violating the principle of equal suffrage.
  • Similar challenges affect voters with physical and intellectual disabilities, raising concerns about the fundamental right to participate equally in democracy.

South Korea's electoral system presents significant hurdles for visually impaired citizens, undermining their right to participate equally in democracy. While the law mandates braille election pamphlets, limitations on the number of pages mean that only a fraction of the information available in standard print is accessible to blind voters. This disparity, previously upheld by the Constitutional Court as constitutional, has been criticized as a clear form of discrimination.

If the number of braille pamphlet pages is limited to the same number as general election pamphlets, only one-fifth of the information will be included.

— Cha Sung-anProfessor at University of Seoul School of Law, explaining the limitations of braille election materials.

Efforts to rectify this situation are ongoing, with a recent legislative proposal aiming to make braille pamphlet creation mandatory and remove page limits. However, the broader issue of accessibility extends beyond printed materials. Visually impaired individuals face discrimination in early voting and absentee voting processes. The use of assistive devices, such as braille ballot guides, is crucial for ensuring secret and independent voting, yet these devices are often not provided or are inadequately supplied, particularly for different ballot formats across various election districts.

You have to find it on the internet yourself.

— Unnamed Constitutional Court majority opinionJustification for upholding the limitations on braille election pamphlet content, citing the development of internet search capabilities.

Beyond visual impairments, voters with physical and intellectual disabilities also encounter systemic barriers. Polling stations have been reported to lack elevators, forcing wheelchair users to navigate inaccessible upper floors. Similarly, essential voting aids for individuals with intellectual disabilities, designed to help them easily identify candidates through logos and photos, are frequently unavailable, despite court rulings mandating their provision. The government's continued appeals against these rulings further delay equitable access.

The principle of secret ballot is fatally flawed.

— Unnamed authorDescribing the risks associated with visually impaired voters relying on assistants for voting.

These ongoing challenges raise serious questions about the inclusivity of South Korea's democratic processes. The principle of suffrage, the most direct means of realizing democracy, must be unequivocally equal for all citizens. The persistent inequalities faced by voters with disabilities highlight a critical need for comprehensive reform to ensure that every citizen can exercise their right to vote without impediment.

The infringement of the right to vote for people with disabilities due to the installation of polling stations on the second floor without an elevator has been repeated.

— Unnamed authorHighlighting the recurring issue of inaccessible polling stations for people with physical disabilities.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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