"Youth Election Participation is the Starting Point for Expanding National Suffrage"

Gyeongnam Youth YMCA Provincial Office Press Conference
Welcoming the Passage of the Election Law Amendment in the Plenary Session
"Do Not Treat Children as Immature in Their Actions"

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Son Tae-seok] A youth organization in Gyeongnam has expressed a welcoming stance on the expansion of voting age following the passage of the Public Official Election Act amendment in the National Assembly.

On the 2nd, Gyeongnam Youth YMCA held a press conference at the Gyeongnam Provincial Government Press Center and stated, "The exercise of voting rights at the age of 18, included in the Public Official Election Act amendment passed by the National Assembly last month, marks the beginning of the expansion of citizens' suffrage."

On the 2nd, the Gyeongnam Youth YMCA held a press conference at the Gyeongnam Provincial Government Press Center, stating that they "welcome the lowering of the voting age to 18."

Gyeongnam Youth YMCA said, "Rather than exercising their rights as citizens, youths have lived as students under adults' concerns, unable to exercise their civic rights or decide policies affecting their lives with their own hands," adding, "It is a joyful event that youths will exercise voting rights for the first time in the 21st National Assembly election."

They continued, "With the passage of voting rights at age 18, youths will become agents who can express opinions as citizens of the Republic of Korea, decide and create elections rights, education with the joy of learning, welfare that brings them closer to a happy life, a clean and safe environment, safe labor with guaranteed rest rights, and a society where they can act as cultural subjects."

They also emphasized, "Youth social and political participation activities should no longer be treated as 'actions of socially and politically immature children.'"

Gyeongnam Youth YMCA plans to conduct education and campaigns for 18-year-old youths voting for the first time in the future.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.