High School Seniors Can Also Become Members of the National Assembly and Local Government Heads... "Candidacy Age Lowered to 18"

The Special Committee on Political Reform Passes Legal Amendment... Scheduled to Apply from March 9 By-Election for National Assembly Members

On the 7th, when the April 7 by-elections were held, citizens are voting at the 3rd polling station in Junggye-bon-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The eligible age for candidates running for the National Assembly and local elections will be lowered from 25 to 18 years old.

This will be applied starting from the National Assembly by-elections and re-elections held alongside the presidential election on March 9 next year. The same applies to the June local elections. From now on, even high school seniors can run once they turn 18 after their birthday.

The National Assembly's Special Committee on Political Reform held consecutive subcommittee and plenary meetings on the 28th to review the Public Official Election Act and local electoral district system reform, approving the amendment to the Public Official Election Act reflecting this change.

According to Article 16, Paragraph 2 of the current Public Official Election Act, candidates for the National Assembly must be at least 25 years old as of the election day.

In response, both ruling and opposition parties proposed bills last month to lower the eligible age for National Assembly and local elections to 18, and after forming the Special Committee on Political Reform, they swiftly approved the bills within about 20 days of starting activities.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

During the meeting, opinions were divided on whether to apply the law starting from the National Assembly by-elections in March next year, but after further discussion, a consensus was reached.

It is interpreted that both ruling and opposition parties united, conscious of the youth vote ahead of the presidential election in March next year.

Since the eligible age for presidential candidates is stipulated as 40 years or older, this bill is unrelated to the presidential election.

The bill will take effect immediately upon promulgation. It is expected to pass the plenary session as early as the 30th and be approved by the Cabinet meeting around mid-January.

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