Overseas voters in S. Korea polls must provide documentation proving nationality

Ahead of snap polls in South Korea triggered by the impeachment of ex-leader Yoon Suk Yeol, social media users falsely claimed anyone could register to vote from abroad with just an email address. Email validation is just a preliminary step of registration and overseas voters without a valid South Korean identification number must provide other documents to verify their nationality. Election authorities told AFP an overseas voter's identity is verified using information held by other government departments to ensure they have the right to vote.

"Even foreigners can vote as long as they have an email address!" reads a Korean-language Threads post shared on May 3. "It's outright suspicious."

The post included screenshots from the website of the National Election Commission (NEC), showing the overseas voters' registration page where applicants are asked to enter their email address.

One of the screenshots contains a statement from the election watchdog: "The National Election Commission is conducting email address validity checks to prevent potential limitations -- such as not being registered on the voter list or being unable to receive election information -- that may result from entering incorrect email addresses."

South Korea, which has been effectively leaderless since Yoon was suspended and officially removed from office over his disastrous declaration of marital law, will head to the polls on June 3 (archived link).

Overseas voting, however, will take place earlier, from May 20 to 25, to allow enough time for ballots to be returned and counted alongside domestic votes (archived here and here).

As Yoon defended his botched martial bid, he rehashed unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud -- long circulated among far-right conspiracy theorists in South Korea -- triggering a surge of misinformation online targeting the NEC (archived link).

Similar posts were shared elsewhere on Threads, X and South Korean online forum DC Inside, as well as in English.

"Election fraud is underway. Overseas voting only requires a valid email address," read a comment on one of the posts.

"Doesn't this mean the Chinese can manipulate the election?" asked another user.

But email address validation is just an initial step of the registration process for an overseas voter (archived link).

This takes place before a voter completes the registration form, according to the NEC's website.

The overseas voter registration form requires applicants to provide personal information, including their passport number, place of birth and current residence.

At the bottom of the form, applicants must sign a declaration that reads: "I hereby confirm myself as a citizen of the Republic of Korea in accordance with the Nationality Act… and agree to the utilization of my personal information, such as family relation, resident registration, criminal record, and passport for confirming my voting rights."

In addition, overseas voters must present "documentation of nationality confirmation" at the overseas polling stations to prove they have "not acquired foreign nationality", according to the NEC (archived link).

A representative from the commission said on May 12 the claim is "completely untrue," explaining that email validity checks prevent applicants from entering invalid email addresses and "prevent malicious, indiscriminate online applications while enabling applicants to receive registration results and election information".

She told AFP the commission uses official records held by relevant institutions such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court to verify whether applicants have the right to vote.