A Study on the Need to Exclude Foreign Permanent Residents Including Chinese from Voting in Local Elections

In 2005, during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, South Korea gave foreigners the right to vote for local council members and heads of local governments. Koreans living in China cannot cast a single vote in elections held in China. Foreign permanent residents residing in South Korea can vote after only three years. The number of Chinese permanent residents in South Korea is approximately 150,000, and the number of permanent residents who are foreigners and can participate in elections in 2026 is expected to be 181,251. This can be said to be an example of deviating from the principle of reciprocity in that one can vote in Korean local elections even if one does not have Korean nationality. The current law has some unreasonable aspects and is not fair from the perspective of reciprocity. Additionally, there have been attempts by China to interfere in elections in Australia and Canada, and voices of concern about Chinese political intervention are growing. These laws that violate reciprocity must be revised. Based on the principle of reciprocity voting rights for foreign permanent residents including Chinese should be excluded.