Jang Donghyuk: "Election Commission Scandal, Independent Counsel Before Parliamentary Probe... Re-Election Takes Priority Over All"

Opening Remarks at the People Power Party Supreme Council Meeting on June 8

Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, argued on June 8 regarding the ballot paper shortage incident during the June 3 local elections, stating, "An independent counsel investigation should come before a parliamentary investigation, and a re-election should take precedence over both."

During the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Jang said, "President Lee Jaemyung, Prime Minister Kim Minseok, and the Democratic Party of Korea all acknowledge the seriousness of this situation," adding, "Even within the Democratic Party, there are already calls to hold a re-election."

Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on June 8, 2026. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Regarding the Democratic Party's push for a parliamentary investigation, he remarked, "It is difficult to believe in their sincerity," and insisted, "From the appointment of the committee chair to the selection of witnesses, People Power Party must take the lead to produce results that the public can accept."

He continued, "Now, President Lee has ordered the formation of a joint prosecution-police investigation team. But deploying a prosecution service that only has four months left in its term is nonsensical," and criticized, "To demand that such a grave investigation be concluded within four months essentially means telling them not to investigate at all."

Jang asserted, "The joint prosecution-police investigation team is nothing more than a scapegoat task force to absolve the National Election Commission," and claimed, "It is a ploy to neutralize the parliamentary investigation and avoid an independent counsel investigation." He further said, "The moment a joint investigation team is mentioned, it is essentially a directive from the President on how the investigation should proceed. In the end, an independent counsel investigation is inevitable."

He emphasized, "This matter should be entrusted to a proper independent counsel recommended by the People Power Party," and added, "According to the logic the Democratic Party has been advocating, there is absolutely no reason to oppose an independent counsel investigation in this case."

Jang also stated, "The Democratic Party has consistently argued that the National Election Commission is an independent body and that the political sphere should not intervene," adding, "There is even less reason to oppose an independent counsel. If anyone objects to an independent counsel, as the Democratic Party has always said, that person is an accomplice."

Additionally, regarding the ballot paper shortage, he claimed, "There were as many as 67 polling stations where ballot papers were transported on the day of the election, and in 22 locations, actual voting delays occurred," and argued, "Since this happened mostly in regions where the People Power Party holds an advantage—such as Seoul, Incheon, Busan, South Gyeongsang Province, and Ulsan—it is possible that the election results in closely contested areas may have been overturned."

He pointed out, "This is an issue that could affect both basic and metropolitan proportional representation elections," and added, "No one knows how many people's voting rights were violated or what results may have been changed."

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