선거권 연령 조정 및 선거교육의 개선 방안

Abstract

This paper explores the directions of election education according to the granting of eighteen suffrage. There has been a debate about lowering the age of suffrage, but in December 2019 a elections law was passed that grants suffrage to people over the age of 18. The eighteen suffrage is to recognize youth as citizens and to give them the right to participate in political processes as the subject of politics. Adolescents have the right to be educated on how to exercise sovereignty as citizens and participate in elections and politics, and the state and schools have the responsibility to educate youth about them. Electoral education should focus on adolescents approaching the subjects of politics and how citizens gain the ability to exercise sovereignty. In addition, election education should be conducted through discussion that must go beyond teaching abstract knowledge through textbooks, but experiences sovereignty such as manifesto verification and mock election, and critically analyzes and evaluates political issues or candidates’ public pledge. In this election education, it is appropriate for the teacher to play the role of a neutral impartiality. The Ministry of Education should provide guidelines for school election education. In addition, it is necessary to develop election education programs and materials by school level. On the other hand, the existing election education mainly focused on students in the school, and the Ministry of Education and local governments should develop programs to provide election education to adolescents outside the school. Student rules should be revised to ensure student campaigns and political activities. This election education will contribute to raising the voter turnout rate and political participation rate by increasing political efficacy based on the understanding of democracy.