▲ Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the People Power Party, chair of the National Assembly's Special Committee on the Investigation of Election Management Failures, including the ballot shortage during the 9th Simultaneous Local Elections.
Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the People Power Party, who chairs the National Assembly's special committee investigating the ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections, proposed today (June 22) the establishment of a permanent internal audit committee within the National Election Commission (NEC) and the transition of the NEC chairperson to a full-time position.
Rep. Yoon hosted a seminar today at the National Assembly Members' Office Building under the theme, "Deprivation of Citizens' Voting Rights: How Should K-Conservatives Take Responsibility?"
During the seminar, Yoon proposed a full-time system for the NEC chairperson, the creation of an internal NEC audit committee, and the enactment of an election management law that allows for ballot recounts upon agreement between ruling and opposition parties.
"How can the NEC chairperson oversee the secretariat and direct the secretary-general by showing up only once a month? The chairperson is, in a word, nothing more than a puppet," Yoon said. "We need not only a full-time chairperson but also to make at least three of the nine election commissioners full-time members."
He further suggested, "There are ways to audit the NEC even without a constitutional amendment. We should establish a permanent, independent internal audit committee within the NEC, composed of members recommended by both ruling and opposition parties, to conduct internal audits and mandate reporting to the National Assembly."
He continued, "In Incheon, the number of valid votes for candidates Park Chan-dae and Yoo Jeong-bok in Songdo-dong 1 and 2 was identical. The only way to verify if this is accurate is through a court decision. I propose creating a special bipartisan management law that allows for a recount if the ruling and opposition parties or candidates agree."
People Power Party lawmakers who attended the seminar also expressed opinions that the government and the ruling party should share responsibility for the ballot shortage incident and that constitutional amendment is not a priority.
Rep. Bae Jun-young also stated, "If the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee had conducted on-site inspections last year, this kind of incident would not have happened. Due to the protection of the majority party, we were unable to do anything about the NEC. I consider the government and the Democratic Party to be accomplices and bystanders who ruined the flower of democracy, the election."
After the seminar, Rep. Yoon met with reporters and said, "Once you go down the path of constitutional amendment, it becomes a black hole. We can sufficiently discuss the laws before considering a 'one-point' constitutional amendment. My proposal is to establish a permanent audit committee through bipartisan agreement and grant the power to recommend its members to the ruling and opposition parties."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.