President Lee Jae Myung, center, accompanied by first lady Kim Hea Kyung, right, meets with South Korean residents in Italy at a hotel in Rome, Monday.
ROME — President Lee Jae Myung on Monday pledged efforts to ensure proper overseas voting rights for Koreans abroad, calling administrative issues in preventing such rights a "serious problem."
The president made the remarks during a meeting in Rome with South Korean residents in Italy, part of his first European tour since taking office in June last year.
"South Korean voters being unable to exercise their voting rights due to administrative issues ... constitutes a serious problem," Lee said. "I will work to resolve the problem as soon as possible."
The remarks came amid ongoing protests in South Korea demanding a rerun of the June 3 local elections after ballot paper shortages at some polling stations partially disrupted voting.
The president emphasized South Korea's enhanced national stature, saying the country had transformed from once an imperial colony of Japan into a democracy respected around the world, while pledging support for the protection of South Koreans overseas.
Source: Korea Times News
