▲ Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the People Power Party, chair of the Special Committee on the Investigation into the Infringement of Voting Rights and Election Management Reform—including the ballot shortage incident during the 9th Simultaneous Local Elections—delivers a proposal for the approval of the investigation plan during the third plenary session of the June extraordinary parliamentary session held at the National Assembly on the 18th.
A parliamentary investigation into the ballot shortage incident during the June 3 local elections will be conducted for 45 days, from June 18 to August 1.
The National Assembly held a plenary session today (June 18) and approved the "Investigation Plan for Truth-Finding on the Infringement of Voting Rights, Including the Ballot Shortage Incident during the 9th Simultaneous Local Elections, and Election Management Reform" by bipartisan agreement.
The plan passed the National Assembly with 250 votes in favor and 1 against, out of 251 members present.
According to the plan, the target agencies for the investigation are the National Election Commission (NEC) and its subordinate election commissions at all levels.
The scope of the investigation includes the circumstances surrounding the ballot shortage, whether there were failures in establishing criteria for calculating the number of printed ballots, the overall on-site management by the NEC on the day of the incident, and the appropriateness of the NEC's response and the timing of when they became aware of the shortage.
In addition, the investigation will cover the status of voting rights infringements such as voting delays, administrative gaps such as delays in transporting ballot boxes, and police actions regarding protests at polling and counting stations.
The special committee plans to determine the responsibility of the NEC, including potential dereliction of duty during the incident and its aftermath, and to prepare measures for comprehensive system reform and the prevention of recurrence.
The investigation period may be extended by a resolution of the plenary session.
The special committee consists of 18 members: 9 from the Democratic Party of Korea, 7 from the People Power Party, 1 from the Rebuilding Korea Party, and 1 from the Reform Party.
Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the People Power Party serves as the committee chair.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.