총선 재외투표 4월 1일 시작…코로나19로 절반만 투표 가능<br /><br />Overseas voters for South Korea's General Elections on April 15th will start voting from today.<br />But COVID-19 has caused the election commission to close voting booths in forty countries.<br />Our Kim Do-yeon has the details. From April 1st, all overseas registered voters, some 170-thousand, would have been able to cast their ballots for the upcoming elections.<br />But around 80-thousand of them, almost half of all registered overseas voters, won't be able to vote.<br />The National Elections Committee of South Korea said on Tuesday they are closing 65 of their satellite voting booths in 40 countries, including the U.S., Italy and Germany.<br />“We tried to ensure the voting rights of overseas Koreans as much as possible by rescheduling the voting period. But with concerns and strengthened restrictions from various countries, which have seen a rapid spread of COVID-19, we decided not to push through with the voting process.”<br />Many had been looking forward to vote before the unprecedented decision.<br />"Actually, I was very excited because I wanted to vote, but when I heard that I wasn't able to vote, I was very disappointed…. Just as we have the right to vote, the people here in the U.S. have the rights to be safe and healthy."<br />Those in unaffected countries such as Japan, which is home to the second highest number of overseas voters, will still cast their votes from April 1st to April 6th.<br />The participants will be able to cast their ballots for proportional representation candidates, and those who are registered as residents in Korea can also vote for their local representatives.<br />KIM Do-yeon, Arirang News<br />
