Lee vows stronger support and voting access for overseas Koreans worldwide

President Lee Jae Myung underscored the contributions of 7 million overseas Koreans and vowed to build an "irreplaceable Republic of Korea" with them in a ceremony on Monday.

“Our government’s support for the overseas Korean community is not merely a one-way benefit bestowed upon those living abroad," Lee said at a ceremony celebrating the 20th World Korean Day in Songdo, Incheon, on Monday. “Rather, it is a highly efficient investment to ensure that Korea and the overseas Korean community serve as sources of mutual strength and to pass on the networks established across the globe to the future generation."

World Korean Day, observed annually on Oct. 5, was designated as an official commemorative day in 2007 to honor the contributions of overseas Koreans active around the world and to strengthen ties with their home country.

“If our 7 million overseas compatriots and 52 million citizens unite as one greater Republic of Korea, we will be able to stride forward more vigorously as a nation that commands greater global trust and contributes to a better future for humanity,” he added. "Just as we created a miracle no one expected over the past eight decades, let us work together to build an 'irreplaceable Republic of Korea,’ a nation that cannot be replicated by anyone else."

He also pledged to expand support for next-generation education through local Korean language schools, establish an integrated digital platform for overseas Koreans and improve the voting system for overseas citizens.

The ceremony was attended by approximately 1,200 people, including representatives from Korean associations and business communities worldwide; overseas Koreans active in various fields such as adoption, education, culture, science and medicine, and domestic returnee groups such as the Korean Association of Koryo-saram, representing ethnic Koreans who lived in the former Soviet Union, and an association of ethnic Korean returnees from Russia's far eastern island of Sakhalin. Also in attendance were Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae; Commissioner Kim Kyung-hyup of the Overseas Koreans Agency; Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers Song Young-gil and bipartisan lawmakers.

Lee stressed that “the voices of the overseas Korean community serve as the starting point for all our policies” and pledged to “use the challenges faced by our compatriots as a catalyst for institutional improvement and ensure that valuable suggestions are translated into concrete policies and budgets, leading to their actual implementation."

Ahead of his address, Lee presented government awards to distinguished overseas Koreans.

Since taking office in June 2025, Lee has focused on addressing issues facing overseas Korean communities, including issuing a directive to the Overseas Koreans Agency to conduct a comprehensive survey of grievances from Korean communities worldwide. This was prompted by a meeting with Korean residents during his January visit to China for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The agency reported receiving 1,438 complaints during the first survey, conducted in January and February, and resolved 68.8 percent of the grievances, or 989 cases. A second survey, conducted in May and June, resulted in 1,362 complaints that are currently under review by the relevant ministries.

Recently, a request from the Korean community in Italy to expand opportunities for Korean nationals to obtain tourist guide certifications was included on the agenda of the Korea-Italy summit held in Rome in June. Discussions are currently underway after an official from the Italian National Tourist Board contacted the Korean Association in Italy and the Overseas Korean Tour Guide Association in Rome two days after the summit to propose a joint search for solutions.

Based on the results of a comprehensive survey, the Overseas Koreans Agency is pursuing measures such as expanding the number of services accepting the overseas Korean simple authentication certificate from nine to 296 to allow access to domestic online services without a domestic mobile phone, and providing services for the issuance of international driving permits and the renewal of domestic driver's licenses through overseas diplomatic missions.

The government also plans to diversify voting methods by amending the Public Official Election Act within the year to address complicated overseas voting system — an issue Lee identified as the "greatest grievance among overseas Koreans" during a Cabinet meeting on June 2.

During a presidential briefing on Aug. 5, Overseas Koreans Agency chief Kim outlined goals to increase the number of polling stations, currently set at one per 30,000 overseas nationals, and to introduce postal and electronic voting before the 2028 general election.

Although the agency stated that an additional budget of approximately 68 billion won was required to fundamentally address the community's grievances, the proposed budget for next year was set at 136.9 billion won ($100.7 million), an increase of 24.2 billion won, or 21.4 percent, from this year.

In Monday’s speech, Lee reiterated his commitment to addressing the grievances of Koreans living in 181 countries worldwide.

"I frequently instruct overseas diplomatic missions to communicate with Korean expatriates as if they were meeting neighbors, to routinely record their views, and to relay them to the South Korean government,” Lee said. "Our government will ensure that your voices do not simply end as mere suggestions, grievances or lamentations."

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]