Face Masks and Plastic Gloves: South Koreans Come Out to Vote Despite Coronavirus Threat

The election is the biggest political event in South Korea this year. Voters practised social distancing by staying behind lines on the floor. Poll workers shouted at people to follow these demarcations to avoid a possible spread of the virus.

Voters’ body temperatures were taken and they were required to put on hand sanitizer and wear disposable plastic gloves before entering the polling area. They only removed their masks for a few seconds to prove their identity to the poll workers. People threw away their gloves after leaving the voting area, while some took selfies to show on social media that they voted.

The regulations are especially important in South Korea, which once had the most number of coronavirus cases outside China. As of writing, there are 10,591 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country. However, South Korea managed to contain the virus through aggressive testing and now has 7,616 recovered patients and 225 deaths. The country has been praised not only for its massive and rapid testing, but also for the government’s transparency on the issue. The results of today’s elections are important because they will dictate how the country will address the virus in the future.

Despite the strict precautions, even those quarantined were allowed to exercise their democratic right. Out of about 60,000 people in quarantine, 13,642 applied to vote. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, these citizens are under strict instructions to only vote at certain times and in designated places. They also should not have coronavirus symptoms, such as fever and a respiratory problem.

Some experts expected fewer people to vote this year but it turned out to be the opposite. The turnout rate this year was recorded at 66.2 percent as of 8 PM KST, already topping the 2016 National Assembly elections’ 58 percent. This also marks the highest rate in 28 years.

Twin sisters Kim Jeong-in and Kim Su-in voted at the Anyang Sports Complex and said that they wanted to support candidates despite the danger of infection.

“Although I was worried about the infection, I wanted to vote to prevent another tragedy like the Sewol ferry disaster, in which more than 300 people, most of them high school students, drowned in 2014,” Su-in told VICE.

“I wasn’t worried that much because I believe I will be able to recover even if I get infected with the virus, because the recovery rate in South Korea is very high,” Jeong-in said. According to the Korea Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the country’s recovery rate is currently at 71.9 percent.

However, the sisters said that some voters didn’t want to follow the regulations set by the government.

“There was a guy, who looked like he was in his late 50s, who was very uncooperative when it came to wearing plastic gloves,” Jeong-in said. “Although he ended up wearing gloves, I think he shouldn’t have complained about the gloves since it’s for everyone’s safety.”

Kim Tae-hyun, 18, voted for the first time this year.

“Although there’s the danger of infection, I thought it was meaningful for me to vote since it’s my first election. I had only watched elections through TV, but I feel a great deal of responsibility as a citizen in a democratic country,” he said. “I wasn’t hesitant to come to the polling station because there are preventive measures for the virus.”

“People have trust in their safety and the government’s preventive measures against the virus, so I think there are very few people who don’t vote due to the fear of getting infected,” Kang Won-taek, a professor of political science at Seoul National University, told VICE.

The election can change the country’s political landscape as President Moon Jae-in’s term ends in May 2022. If candidate from the ruling party win a majority of the legislative seats, Moon will likely get more support in the last few years of his term. Based on the latest exit polls, it looks like this will be the case.

Yu Chang-seon, a political analyst, agrees with this.

“People are not afraid of getting infected in the voting areas because of the preventive measures. They also have a strong sense of sovereignty,” he said. The analyst thinks the outbreak could even work to the ruling party’s advantage.

“The negative publicity over the government has died down since the government’s measures against the coronavirus won plaudits,” Kang said.

He explained that this could lead to the “rally ‘round the flag effect,” a surge of popularity for the ruling party as the nation unites behind its leader during an emergency situation.

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