Although the Election Boom Has Disappeared, Ballots Marked with 'Pride' Remain

Ballots Must Symbolize Technical Excellence with No Static or Ink Smudging
Only Murim and Hansol "Minimal Supply Revenue but Significant Quality Recognition"

Ballot papers are being printed at a printing house.
[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] The notion that elections bring a 'special demand' to the paper industry is a thing of the past. The same applies to the upcoming 20th presidential election just two weeks away. The paper industry no longer expects an 'election boom.' Unlike in the past when printed promotional materials were distributed, election promotions are now mainly conducted through social networking services (SNS). The market size for election paper is gradually shrinking.

Election paper is broadly divided into ballot paper and election promotional printed materials such as election posters and booklets. Since ballot paper is proportional to the number of voters, its volume does not fluctuate significantly, but election promotional printed paper is clearly on the decline.

According to the paper industry on the 22nd, about 20,000 tons of election promotional printed paper were supplied during the 7th nationwide simultaneous local elections in 2018, but this dropped to about 8,000 tons during the 21st National Assembly election in 2020, and it is estimated that about 7,000 tons will be supplied for this presidential election, showing a year-by-year decrease in demand for election promotional printed paper.

However, in the paper industry, supplying 'ballot paper' is considered a measure of technological capability. Ballot paper is said to be a culmination of paper technology. It must be free from static electricity and ink smudging. If ballot papers stick together due to static electricity during counting or if the ink from the voting stamp smudges, it results in invalid votes, which is an unfortunate outcome.

Since even a tiny dot can cause reading errors, advanced technology is required during production to ensure that no speck of foreign matter is included. The durability and strength of the paper itself are also important. The paper must have good resilience to unfold smoothly after being folded, which helps prevent paper jams when fed into automatic counting machines.

Moorim P&P's Ulsan factory produces 'Neostar Art' and 'Neostar Snow White,' which are widely used for election promotional printing materials.
[Photo by Moorim]

Ballot paper must come in seven colors?white, light green, egg yellow, bluish gray, sky blue, light beige, and light pink?with a basis weight of 100g/㎡ and must also have eco-friendly certification. The two types of ballot paper that meet these stringent quality standards set by the National Election Commission are Murim's 'Neo Ballot Paper' and Hansol Paper's 'HANSOL Ballot Paper.' Murim, which began supplying ballot paper from the 2002 local elections when the electronic counting system was first introduced, has maintained a 60% market share since obtaining a patent for ballot paper manufacturing technology in 2007. The remaining market share is held by Hansol Paper.

A paper industry official said, "The profits from supplying ballot paper are minimal, but unlike general printing paper, it requires differentiated technological capabilities, so it symbolically represents recognition of paper quality," adding, "As for election promotional printed paper, the volume of base paper orders from printing companies is not very large."

This presidential election is expected to have the second-highest number of candidates ever, with 14 registered candidates, which will lengthen the ballot paper. During the 19th presidential election in 2017, a record 15 candidates registered, making the ballot paper the longest at 28.5 cm, while this election's ballot paper length is 27.0 cm.

The paper industry does not welcome longer ballot paper because it increases the likelihood of paper jams in automatic counting machines. Ballot paper is managed and supplied by designated vendors (printing companies) appointed by the National Election Commission, while election promotional printed paper is selected by individual candidates or political parties.

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