[Editorial] Follow reciprocity

Kim Gi-hyeon, leader of the ruling People Power Party, said in an address to the National Assembly on Tuesday: “China grants no suffrage to our people. It is fair to give no voting rights to foreigners from such country.”

Kim also said, “Compared with the range of those dependents of our people residing in China who can be registered as beneficiaries of its health insurance system, that of dependents of Chinese residents in South Korea on its health insurance plan is much wider.”

He said that the national health insurance fund raised with Korean people's sweat and toil must not leak like a sieve through foreign subscribers, and that his party will close loopholes enabling a free ride on the national health insurance scheme.

In the wake of public criticism of Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming‘s controversial comments warning Seoul not to make a “wrong bet” when it comes to the Sino-US rivalry, Kim made clear the ruling party’s will to correct problems that compromise the principle of reciprocity.

Article 24 of the Constitution grants the right to vote to all citizens. Yet the Public Office Election Act allows noncitizens for whom three years have passed since obtaining a permanent resident visa from South Korea to vote in local elections. The act was revised in August 2008 under President Roh Moo-hyun.

At the time, the revision faced strong opposition. But the then ruling Uri Party -- a predecessor to the current main opposition Democratic Party of Korea -- pushed the legislation. The revision was calculated to put pressure on Tokyo to grant voting rights to Korean permanent residents in Japan by proactively extending enfranchisement to Japanese permanent residents in South Korea.

But Japan has not changed its election law in the 15 years since. In the meantime, the number of Chinese voters in Korea has swelled. In 2005, there were about 6,700 permanent residents in South Korea. As of March last year, the number of foreigners eligible to vote amounted to 126,668. Of them, 99,969 people were of Chinese nationality. They accounted for 79 percent of total foreign voters.

Seoul failed to accomplish the goal of getting Tokyo to extend voting rights to Korean permanent residents. Instead, many more Chinese residents than Japanese in Korea gained the right to vote.

When China retaliated against South Korea over the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system, calls for restricting the voting rights of Chinese residents mounted. But at that time, Cheong Wa Dae under President Moon Jae-in said that the intent of enfranchising foreigners was to realize the universality of democracy by getting foreign residents involved in basic political decision-making.

The number of foreigners who voted in local elections last year was 16,847. Their turnout was 13 percent, much lower than the total turnout of 50.9 percent. And yet considering tens or hundreds of votes determine the results of closely contested local elections, the influence of Chinese voters is nothing to sneeze at. In the election for Gyeonggi governor last year, Kim Dong-yeon of the Democratic Party of Korea defeated Kim Eun-hye of the People Power Party by about 8,000 votes.

Health insurance coverage is also against the principle of reciprocity. If Chinese residents in South Korea are salaried employees insured by its national health insurance system, their dependents including spouses, parents, children and grandparents are eligible for the same insurance coverage as South Korean citizens. On the contrary, if South Koreans work in China for Chinese employers, in most cases, only minor children are recognized as eligible dependents.

Reciprocity is a broad principle when it comes to international relations. Policies based on reciprocity must not be viewed as hatred or discrimination. The voting rights of and health insurance for Chinese residents in South Korea are against reciprocity. It is right to reform them now.