Dajeong Choi/ 7th assignment/ thur 34

Voting: Should or Should Not Be Mandatory                We took a parliamentary election last month, on April 11th. That day, my "facebook wall" was all covered with the pictures of showing they had voted. People also wrote about promoting to participate in this important practice, and at the same time, harshly criticized those who didn't implement what they call "the right of citizenship." Some even insisted voting at elections should be made compulsory and regulated in the national constitutions and electoral laws. However, actually, South Korea is not the country that voting is compulsory by law and I think there are some reasons.              First, it is consistent with the freedom associated with democracy. If democracy is government by the people, then it is every citizen's responsibility to elect their representatives. But the social atmosphere drove people to go to the poll last month seemed like a modern day "witch-hunt". I don't say they are right, but, whatever the thing is, hooking person into the thing is also not on the same line as democracy. Furthermore, we should consider some people just don't like to get involved with politics and therefore they decide not to vote.    Another consequence of mandatory voting is the possible high number of "random votes". Although interests in politics has been greater than before, but still, there are lots of people who don't even look at the campaign pledges and don't care who become a next lawmaker. Voters who are voting against their free may check off a candidate randomly, particularly the top candidate on the ballot. The voter does not care whom they vote for as long as the government is satisfied that they fulfilled their civic duty.              The last problem is how to punish the non voters. Some people say non voters should be fined. Then, if so, paying how much is proper to this illegal act? Too small fine may be ineffective but it doesn't look suitable to charge large fines for failing to vote. It is too complex and need resources required for enforcement. For citizens, voting in elections has been a choice, and then suddenly it becomes an obligation like taxes. Do you think people keep in quiet with this unilateral declaration in the democracy society? So, this may complicate the matter by needless additions.              To sum up, if voting is considered a duty, it can lead adverse problems like violation of an individual's freedom of choice, possible high number of random vote, and punishing problems. When it comes to voting, quality is more important than quantity. So ideally, rather than pushing people into the poll, promoting them to voluntarily go to a poll is the best and realistic way that I believe.