Ruling Party Urges People Power Party to Stop Politicizing Election Commission Incident

“Some Protesters in Jamsil Engage in Provocation and Verbal Abuse Toward Police”
Illegal Acts Must Not Occur

Byungdo Han, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, urged the People Power Party on June 11 to “stop trying to exploit a grave national issue for political gain” in relation to the parliamentary investigation into the June 3, 9th Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections ballot paper shortage incident.

Byungdo Han, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on June 11, 2026. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

At the Policy Coordination Meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, Han stated, “This parliamentary investigation is not a matter of political advantage or disadvantage,” and made these remarks.

He continued, “(The People Power Party) should stop making baseless arguments such as claims of election fraud or calls to abolish early voting and instead join us in identifying the root cause and preparing fundamental solutions, including reforming the National Election Commission.” He added, “The Democratic Party will take full responsibility throughout the entire process, from uncovering the truth behind this incident to punishing those responsible and preventing a recurrence.”

He went on to say, “The request for a parliamentary investigation into the ballot paper shortage incident is scheduled to be reported at today’s plenary session,” and added, “After today, we will also set the schedule for the next plenary session and adopt the investigation plan.”

Chun Junho, Senior Deputy Floor Leader for parliamentary operations, said, “We must uncover the truth behind the Election Commission’s negligence and carry out a full-scale reform of the election management system and the Commission itself.” He argued, “The special counsel investigation into the ballot paper shortage incident, proposed by the People Power Party, contains elements that border on conspiracy theories.”

Chun further emphasized, “Even if there is a special counsel investigation, a botched probe tainted with conspiracy theories cannot resolve the issue,” and declared, “The Democratic Party will respond firmly to any attempt to cloud the essence of this matter.”

After the meeting, Floor Spokesperson Lee Juhee met with reporters and explained, “We will form the special investigation committee and expect the parliamentary investigation to begin around the end of June,” adding, “We will prepare thoroughly in line with the start date.”

If both parties report their respective parliamentary investigation requests at today’s plenary session, they will begin negotiations on the specific targets and procedures of the investigation. While there is consensus between the parties on the need for an investigation, there remain differences over the details.

Meanwhile, Han also addressed the so-called “Jamsil ballot counting center blockade protest,” pointing out that “due to the misconduct of some protesters, police officers and nearby citizens are experiencing significant inconvenience.” He added, “In particular, it is reported that police officers maintaining order at the scene are frequently subjected to indiscriminate criticism, provocation, and verbal abuse.” He emphasized, “While citizens’ freedom of expression must be respected, acts accompanied by violence and fear that trample on the rights of others can never be justified nor considered just,” and stressed, “I hope no further illegal acts will occur at the scene.”

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