Jang Donghyuk: "Early Voting Must Be Abolished"... Special Law for Re-Election Also Planned

"If We Only Wait for a Special Prosecutor, Evidence Will Disappear"
People Power Party Begins Applications to Preserve Ballot Box Evidence

Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, stated on June 9, "One of the causes of the recent shortage of ballots is the early voting system," and insisted, "Early voting must be abolished." He also announced that he would pursue the introduction of a special law to hold a re-election.

During a press conference at the National Assembly on the same day, Jang said, "Even within the National Election Commission, there are voices pointing out the problems of the early voting system," adding, "There should not be any attempt to expand systems such as electronic voting or electronic ballot counting that the public cannot trust."

Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, is holding a press conference on current issues such as the shortage of ballots at the National Assembly on June 9, 2026. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

He argued, "If only the main voting day had been held, ballot papers could have been prepared across the country in proportion to the voter turnout, but because early voting rates differ by region, various variables occurred during the process of reflecting this." He added, "This shortage of ballots is not unrelated to the early voting system."

Jang reiterated the need to introduce a special prosecutor regarding suspicions of poor election management. He said, "In the end, a special prosecutor is the only answer," and proposed, "Since Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, has also expressed support for a special prosecutor, let's meet even today to discuss pushing for a special prosecution bill."

He continued, "If we only wait for a special prosecutor, evidence could disappear or be contaminated," and announced, "The People Power Party will immediately begin procedures for filing applications to preserve evidence, including ballot boxes, along with preparing election appeals."

Jang once again emphasized a re-election as the fundamental solution to this situation. He said, "Infringements on the right to vote have occurred across the country, and even based on the facts that have been revealed so far, there is sufficient reason to hold a re-election," adding, "We will discuss within the party the proposal of a special law to conduct a re-election."

He also insisted, "Taking this situation as an opportunity, we must expedite the amendment of the Public Official Election Act to abolish early voting," and added, "If a re-election is held, the system should be revised so that it can proceed without early voting."

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