PPP Files Complaint Against President Lee for Election Law Violation...Jang Says "Serious Breach of Neutrality Obligation"

Democratic Party Responds: "People Power Party's Claims Are Unreasonable"

The People Power Party filed a criminal complaint against President Lee Jae-myung on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, following the controversy surrounding his early voting the previous day. The party also submitted a complaint against an official of the National Election Commission at the polling station where President Lee cast his early vote, citing violations of the Public Official Election Act and dereliction of duty under the Criminal Act.

Jang Dong-hyuk, Standing Election Countermeasures Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, along with lawmakers Park Joon-tae, Kim Jang-gyeom, and Choi Bo-yoon, held a press conference on the 30th in front of the Civil Complaints Office at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Jongno-gu, Seoul, before submitting a complaint accusing President Lee Jae-myung of violating the confidentiality of voting under the Public Official Election Act. Photo by Yonhap News

Party leader Jang Donghyuk, Secretary-General Jeong Heeyong, and other members of the party leadership visited the Civil Affairs Office at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Jongno-gu, Seoul, in the afternoon to submit complaints against President Lee and the relevant National Election Commission official. Before submitting the complaint, Jang stated at a press conference, "The core issue is not that Lee Jae-myung came out of the polling booth and showed his marked ballot outside the polling station yesterday."

Jang explained, "The essential problem is that the President used his marked ballot to appeal for support for a specific party and candidate in front of broadcast cameras," adding, "And the essential problem is that he showed the marked ballot, which should not have been displayed, to the National Election Commission staff present at the scene." He argued that these two reasons "constitute a clear violation of the election law, leaving no room for interpretation under the Public Official Election Act."

Jang further criticized, "Above all, as President, he has seriously violated the obligation of neutrality during elections," adding, "The National Election Commission's claim that it is not a violation of the election law because the ballot was taken out of the counting station, not the polling station, misses the essence of the issue." He continued, "The claim that President Lee had no intent is an utterly illogical and contextless, irresponsible answer."

Regarding President Lee's post on his social media earlier that day, stating, "Abstaining from voting is not neutrality; it is siding with those who harm my life and community," Jang said, "It is acceptable for the President to post messages on social media encouraging the public to vote. However, posting a message asking people to vote for the Democratic Party is also a violation of the duty of electoral and political neutrality." He added that this "constitutes a clear ground for impeachment."

On the other hand, the Democratic Party expressed the position that the early voting controversy was merely a simple mishap at the polling station and not an issue. Jo Seungrae, Secretary-General of the Democratic Party, stated at a press briefing the previous day, "It seems that there was an issue, possibly with the ink smudging during President Lee's voting process," and refuted, "The claims made by the People Power Party are unreasonable."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.