By Kim Rahn





Lee Jae-jung, superintendent of the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, speaks in a press conference at the office in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Jan. 8, that his office will provide more education programs on democracy, including information on elections, as a law revision has enabled some high school seniors to participate in the April 15 general election. / Yonhap

The election watchdog is preparing for an unprecedented situation in the upcoming April 15 general election — some 520,000 people aged 18 will be able to vote, following a relevant law revision that lowered the voting age from 19.

It is the first time in the nation's history that high school seniors will be able to cast their ballots in selecting public officials.

About 140,000 of the new voters are estimated to be high school seniors, according to the education ministry, and the National Election Commission (NEC) is coming up with measures to prevent classrooms from becoming politicized.

The commission said, Wednesday, it had formed a taskforce to carry out the measures and seek cooperation with related authorities, such as the education ministry.

It will make educational materials on voting and the Election Law to be distributed to students and teachers by the end of this month. It will also provide lectures upon schools' request.

Some of the materials will be made in the form of webtoons, raps or social media content, in cooperation with famous YouTubers or other influencers if possible, to catch young voters' attention.

The NEC will also urge political parties and candidates to refrain from activities that could infringe on students' rights to study, such as visiting schools or making speeches with loudspeakers near schools. School visits could be restricted for a candidate who conducts such activities, the commission said.

People will be encouraged to report to the election authorities if teachers or school officials are engaged in activities that could benefit to specific candidates or political parties. Those who report such cases will be given monetary rewards.

If students violate the guidelines, the NEC will notify the school of the fact and the student will be issued a warning. But stern actions will be taken for repeat offenders.

Separately from the commission's measures, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) is seeking to submit a bill to entirely ban electioneering on school campuses.

"Following the lowered voting age, campaign activities can take place in classrooms of high school seniors," LKP floor leader Shim Jae-cheol said during his meeting with an NEC official at the National Assembly, Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the commission also stressed the need to revise some laws to prevent problems that could possibly arise from the voting age change, including banning private school teachers from electioneering as those at public schools are and prohibiting candidates from distributing leaflets at schools or posting campaign banners on school buildings.