National Election Commission’s electronic voting system will be used for the first time for an election of the next chairman of Korea Federation of SMEs. It is expected that voting time that used to take between 4 and 5 hours will be reduced by half. It is also expected that electronic voting system will prevent any delay or confusion as there will be first round of voting and final round of voting with 600 people gathered in one place.
According to National Election Commission, expected time that will take for voting of the 26th chairman of Korea Federation of SMEs and counting of votes will be between 2 and 2 and half hours.
Chairman of Korea Federation of SMEs is elected when he or she gains majority votes according to election rules. If a candidate that has majority votes from first round of voting but has less than 50% of votes, there will be a final round of voting between first place and second place.
Korea Federation of SMEs has 23 federations, 182 national associations, 234 local associations, and 130 business associations. As of the 21st, it had 557 registered voters. Final list of voters will be decided on the 27th.
First round of voting will start sometime in the morning after a regular general meeting at 10 A.M. and deliberation of various issues. Results from first round of voting will be announced after lunch. If there is no candidate with majority votes, second round of voting will begin immediately. Final decision is expected to be announced at 2 P.M. at the earliest.
Registered voters will receive NFC (Near Field Communication) cards after presenting their ID cards to prove that they are registered voters. When they place their cards on NFC devices located inside of voting booths, pictures of 5 candidates will show up a screen.
Time for electronic voting process is shorter than that of paper voting process since entire process is done through electronically. Possibility of unnecessary controversies that can occur during a voting process is also low. Korea Federation of SMEs installed a mock electronic voting zone at an open debate that was held on the 20th and explained about new electronic voting method to voters.
“In the past, members had to wait about 5 hours for voting process to end.” said Chairman Kim Ki-soon of National Election Committee. “We expect that electronic voting system will drastically reduce entire voting process and enhance transparency of voting process.”
National Election Commission’s online voting system provides management of votes, training for representatives from organizations that use its online voting system, and technical support to organizations and groups that were approved by National Election Commission. Results and relevant information will be stored until 7 days after an election is over and they will be erased automatically. Its online voting system guarantees stability and credibility as it meets guidelines for online voting and four principles of election system.
National Election Commission is also testing a blockchain-based online voting system. It has improved transparency and security by applying blockchain technology to verification of voters and storage of votes. It is planning to apply blockchain technology to small areas and eventually expand it to bigger areas.
Staff Reporter Park, Jungeun | jepark@etnews.com