Subtitled News: Former Election Commission Official Speaks Out on Ballot Shortage Scandal

The aftermath of the ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections continues to unfold.

A former official who worked at the National Election Commission (NEC) from 2018 to 2022 has spoken out.

[Interview: Jung Hae-chan, Secretary-General of the Namhae-gun Branch of the Korean Government Employees' Union / News Hunters: The training provided to on-site personnel—the local government election administrators—is unprofessional. They only receive about two hours of training twice. The material they need to learn is about 100 pages long. If you consider whether these local government election administrators, who lack professional expertise, could have responded properly in the field, it is actually more surprising that accidents didn't happen sooner.]

Public officials are also expressing strong anger.

They have heavily criticized the National Election Commission, arguing that it holds all the authority but shifts the responsibility onto others.

[Interview: Park Bok-hwan, Election Reform Task Force / News Hunters: I agree with the sentiment that we have become 'bullet sponges.' We are demanding that the NEC directly oversee and manage elections and take full responsibility for every step of the process. They should not delegate roles or outsource tasks to local government officials, but handle them directly.]

According to a survey conducted by the polling firm Gallup Korea from June 9 to 11 among 1,002 adults aged 18 and older nationwide, 44% of respondents supported a full re-election due to the ballot shortage, while 48% opposed it.

By age group, the support for a re-election was 67% among those in their 20s and younger, and 62% among those in their 30s. An expert explains why the demand for a re-election is particularly high among the 2030 generation:

[Interview: Shin Yul, Professor of Political Science and Diplomacy at Myongji University / News Hunters: The most important topic for the 2030 generation these days is that they will accept the results if the process is fair. To put it simply, do you know the difference between envy and deprivation? Envy is like, 'I could have reached that state if I had put in the effort, and that person reached it through effort, so I envy them.' This acknowledges the process. Deprivation is, 'I also worked hard, so why am I like this while they are like that?' Young people today may feel envy, but they cannot tolerate a sense of deprivation.]

The former NEC official pointed to structural issues that have remained untouched for 30 years as the core of the current crisis.

[Interview: Jung Hae-chan, Secretary-General of the Namhae-gun Branch of the Korean Government Employees' Union / News Hunters: We have relied on a low-cost outsourcing system for too long. The Public Official Election Act was created in 1996, and it has been 30 years, but almost nothing has changed institutionally since then, even though the environment has constantly evolved. It would be accurate to say that it is an organization that has failed to adapt to the changing environment and has been left behind.]

Experts agree that unless there is a major reform of the National Election Commission, it will be difficult to avoid similar chaos in future elections.

Reported by Lee Se-young | Video by Lee Da-in | Source: News Hunters | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.