People Power Party Holds First Party Meeting After Election...Proposes Urgent Parliamentary Probe into 'Election Commission Incident'

Focusing on the Ballot Paper Shortage Crisis...
Calls for Disclosure of Related Documents

Jang Donghyuk Absent Due to Health Concerns...
All-Out Offensive on Election Commission Responsibility

The People Power Party held its first party members' meeting following the June 3 local elections, strongly criticizing the shortage of ballot papers that occurred in parts of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. The party proposed an urgent parliamentary investigation to the Democratic Party of Korea at the National Assembly level.

On June 4, the People Power Party convened an emergency meeting at the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts meeting room in the National Assembly, calling for a thorough investigation into allegations of election mismanagement by the National Election Commission and demanding that those responsible be held accountable. Lawmakers who attended the meeting held placards that read, "Thorough investigation into the shortage of ballot papers" and "Severe punishment for those responsible at the National Election Commission," chanting slogans.

Song Eon-seok, Floor Leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at a party meeting held at the National Assembly on the 4th. Photo by Yonhap News

In his opening remarks, Floor Leader Song Un-seok stated, "In 17 polling stations, including the Jamsil area of Songpa-gu in Seoul, as well as in Incheon and Hwaseong in Gyeonggi Province, there was a shortage of ballot papers, resulting in hundreds of voters being unable to cast their votes." He criticized the incident as "an unprecedented situation that never occurred even during the Liberal Party regime in the 1950s."

He argued, "The shortage of ballot papers, which forced voters to wait for extended periods or give up voting altogether, constitutes a violation of the constitutional right to participate in government." He further pointed out, "Extending voting until 10 p.m., while exit polls were being announced and vote counting began in some areas, runs counter to the intent of the Public Official Election Act."

He went on to say, "The National Election Commission and the Seoul Election Commission failed to decide whether to suspend vote counting, instead shifting responsibility onto each other, which amounts to dereliction of duty." He added, "The election commissions committed three major offenses: the shortage of ballot papers, conducting voting and vote counting simultaneously, and the National Election Commission’s dereliction of duty."

The People Power Party formally demanded that the National Election Commission conduct its own investigation, that Heo Cheol-ho, Secretary-General of the National Election Commission, and the Chairman of the Seoul Election Commission resign, that an urgent parliamentary investigation be conducted, that improvements to the election management system be legislated, and that all relevant data be released. In addition, the party called on the commission to submit ballot paper printing guidelines, budget execution details, internal approval documents, and printing contracts.

Meanwhile, as this was the first party members' meeting since the June 3 local elections, there was heightened attention on the leadership’s future. After the meeting, Chief Spokesperson Park Chung-kwon stated regarding the leadership, "No discussions have taken place yet," and added, "After the election of the National Assembly presidium at tomorrow's plenary session, we will announce future schedules and leadership election plans."

Regarding Representative Jang Dong-hyuk's absence from the meeting, Park explained, "It is understood to be due to health reasons caused by staying up all night in the process of responding to the situation, including a visit to the National Election Commission the previous day."

On the election results, Park commented, "We do not believe that the People Power Party has won," but added, "We think the people have left behind at least a minimum mechanism to keep the arrogant government and ruling party in check."

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