National Election Commission prohibits voters from brining green onions to polling stations

On June 6, citizens who participated in early voting took \

On April 5 and 6 when early voting for the general election on April 10 took place nationwide, voters uploaded photos related to green onions at advance polling stations where they voted on their social media accounts. The move came as the National Election Commission (NEC)'s principle of "prohibiting voters from bringing green onions for political purposes in advance polling stations" became known. Some citizens claimed that the NEC was suppressing freedom of expression and visited the polling stations with actual green onions, bags with pictures of green onions, green onion-shaped ballpoint pens or keychains.

At 12:30 p.m. on the 6th, the advance polling station at the Samyang-dong Community Service Center in Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, restricted voters from bringing in green onions according to the NEC’s guidelines. An official of the NEC, who saw a green onion that a reporter took, stopped his entry, saying, "Can you come out for a moment?" The official added, "I also think it's strange, but I can't help it because I have to follow the guidelines. I'm sorry, but there are many eyes watching, so please leave it outside."

Similar things happened elsewhere. Jeong Yoon-hee (45), who went to vote with a purple eco-bag that she had hand-painted with acrylic paint, said, "When a staffer from the NEC saw my bag, he asked me to turn it around so that the green onion was not visible, adding, "When I heard the guideline, I couldn't help but laugh. The whole situation where green onions are treated as a subject of restraint is so hilarious.”

Sung Ki-bong (58), who voted in Gyeonggi Province, said, "I put green onions in my shopping bag, but the staffers did not block me from going into the polling station." He added, "I was puzzled and bewildered by the standard of being ‘political.’ What if I go to the polling station after I really go grocery shopping?”

Among those in their 20s and 30s, it has spread like a trend to "upload photos of them in front of polling stations after voting” with items such as green onion-shaped ballpoint pens and keychains. On social media platforms and online communities, there were many posts that read, "I prepared a green onion which is a voting item," "How to distinguish green onions for political purposes and for cooking?" "Are they also going to prohibit us from bringing chives to polling stations?" and "It's funny to see green onions placed in supermarkets."

Ms. Choi (28), an office worker living in Jungnang-gu, Seoul, said she took out a green onion-shaped ballpoint pen she bought three years ago when she was studying for the civil servants recruitment exams and took it to the polling station to take a picture. "The pen was relatively small, so I wasn't stopped," Choi said, adding, "I decided to take a photo with the green onion-shaped pen because I thought the NEC was controlling people with something insignificant.”

The NEC delivered "guidelines for expected cases of complaints at polling stations" to each regional NEC on the 5th when early voting began. Citing the case of "a voter entering a polling station with political items, such as green onions,” the NEC instructed, "Guide the voter to leave the green onions in a suitable place outside the polling station before entering the polling station.”

Some experts pointed out that the NEC’s guidelines were excessive, and some said that it was right to prohibit it under the current election law. Kim Hyung-chul, a professor at the Institute for Democracy at Sungkonghoe University, said, "The law prohibits promotional and campaigning activities at polling stations, so it is correct under the current law to prohibit people from bringing symbolic items to polling stations," adding, "However, the question remains whether green onions can be understood as a political symbol or not." Kim also said, "Even if green onions are considered a political symbol, it would not be practically possible to determine whether citizens brought them to express their political intentions or just brought them to polling stations after shopping.”

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.