Parliamentary committee OKs bill on reducing age of eligibility for joining political parties

A parliamentary committee on Monday approved a bill on lowering the age at which people can join a political party, a move seen as aimed at wooing young voters ahead of the March presidential election.  

The Legislation and Judiciary Commission passed the revised bill that calls for lowering the age of eligibility for joining political parties to 16 from the current 18.  Under the bill, people aged 16 and older will be able to participate in the process of creating a political party and become a party member.  

The move is a follow-up to the passage of a bill on lowering the age of candidacy for parliamentary and local elections to 18 from 25.  It marked the first time that the age of candidacy has been lowered since the country's Constitution was established in 1948.  

In case of a presidential election, the age of candidacy is set at 40 or older. (Yonhap)