Do you remember when you were 18?
I remember when I was 18...
I felt like a grown-up at the same not as grown up.
In many democracies around the world, as soon as you turn 18, you have the right to vote.
If you're here in Korea, you would have to wait it out one more year to exercise your
suffrage right...
while you have the right to getting a driver's license, get married, consume alcohol legally....
Should the voting age here in this country be lowered to 18?
The pros and cons our news feature tonight with LEe Jiwon.
"Having seen students participate in the candlelight rallies, I think they are mature and can participate
in an election."
"If 18-year-olds could vote, we would most likely be influenced by our parents' political
views, and not necessarily form our own ideas."
In Korea,... 18-year-olds can get married, join the military and get a driver's license
but they can't vote.
But with this age group increasingly becoming active in civic life, as witnessed by the
hundreds of thousands of high schoolers taking part in impeachment rallies recently, there's
a growing call to lower the voting age to 18 here in Korea.
"18-year-olds are capable of taking their own stances and having their voices heard
on political matters.
The legal voting age in most countries is 18,... while in Korea it's 19."
In fact, 33 out of 35 OECD nations have a voting age of 18 or above.
Note Austria,... at 16.
"The country's history and background must be considered when giving voting rights to
young people.
In Korea, most 18-year-olds are high school seniors who haven't yet completed their schooling."
For high school students in Korea, senior year is especially important because it's
when they take the national college entrance exam.
Given the intensive preparations that go into it, there are also a number of people who
are against lowering the voting age.
"I think it's wrong for high school seniors to be thinking about politics and elections
instead of focusing on their studies."
But some teachers say the students are more than ready to participate in civic life.
"Students are our future leaders.
Their ability to make their own decisions and solve their problems... should be nurtured...
by giving them voting rights.
And as a politics teacher, I find many of these students are more than capable of making
decisions after a thorough review, just like adults are."
The debate over the voting age has flared again in recent days, as the country faces
a major political scandal that's impeached the president, prompting the prospect of an
early presidential election.
There are currently about 40-million eligible voters in Korea, and if the nation's 600-thousand
18-year-olds were given the franchise, they'd represent 1-point-5 percent of the electorate.
The liberal parties are in favor of lowering the voting age, while the conservative parties
are largely opposed.
That's partly based on the perception that young voters in Korea have a tendency to lean
more towards liberal candidates.
History shows democratic uprisings in this country were organized primarily by young
people.
However, that presumption may not be so applicable this time.
"We cannot define all 18 year-olds as liberal.
They are not as left-leaning as the young people who participated in the political movements
in the past.
Young people these days tend to act based more on what's important in their own lives."
In 2015, Japan lowered its voting age from 20 to 18.
And Japanese liberals were expecting the results to be in their favor, but the it turned out
that some 40-percent of new voters cast their ballots for the conservative party,... while
17-percent voted liberal.
Pundits say this was because young voters actually focused on the candidates' pledges
than their affiliations,... and that that is the approach Korea needs to take in this
discussion.
"Rather than sorting the gains and losses, leaders must discuss the fundamental issues.
Voting is a very serious right for a citizen... and the parties must not change the rules
of the game, especially with a game ahead... and without really providing them with policies
or pledges."
Many believe the lowering of voting age to 18 will happen eventually,... but more needs
to be done to help better inform the new voters before the final decision is made.
"Society needs to make an environment in which 18-year-olds are nurtured as responsible voters,...
including expansion of education on politics and democracy, while ensuring that the information
isn't biased."
Lee Ji-won, Arirang News.