The National Election Commission announced that a new type of voting booth without a pull-down curtain would be used in the upcoming local elections.

The purpose of using the new voting booth is, according to the NEC, to give a more pleasant atmosphere to polling stations and more convenience to voters while secrecy of voting is guaranteed. With a new voting booth in use, voters will not have to open a curtain when entering a voting booth.

With the front and two sides of them being walled, voting booths will be installed laterally with enough space between one another to guarantee a secret ballot.

If anyone feeling uncomfortable with a new voting booth wishes to have a curtain installed, the booth can be equipped with a temporary curtain without difficulty at a polling station.

According to the NEC, disposable voting booths have been used since 2007, with the costs required to store, maintain and repair booths being considered. The NEC identifies and produces the number of voting booths necessary for each election.

Voting booths without a pull-down curtain have been produced since 2013 and test-used in the repeat/by-elections for National Assembly members in the second half of the year. The NEC said it had recently collected feedback from the major political parties.

Most countries such as the USA, the UK, Germany, etc. have used voting booths without a pull-down curtain and in the case of Korea, these voting booths were used at overseas voting places for the 19^th National Assembly elections and the 18^th Presidential election.

The NEC showed its determination to provide more information and guidance on the new type of voting booth to the public.