DPK Proposes Two-Stage Reform of Election Commission... Constitutional Amendment Also Considered

On June 16, the Democratic Party of Korea announced sweeping reforms to the National Election Commission in response to the ballot paper shortage incident during the June 3 local elections.

Song Kiheon, the head of the Democratic Party's Election System Reform Task Force, is speaking at the 2nd TF meeting held at the National Assembly on the 16th. Photo by Yonhap News

The party's "Task Force for Institutional Reform to Safeguard the People's Right to Vote" held its second meeting at the National Assembly that afternoon and received a detailed report from the National Election Commission on the circumstances surrounding the ballot shortage.

Kim Youngbae, who serves as the deputy head of the task force, stated, "I will propose a two-stage plan for reforming election management at the National Election Commission," outlining his vision for the direction of the reforms.

Assemblyman Kim explained, "The first stage involves introducing a permanent chairperson system for the Election Commission, expanding the number of permanent commissioners, and establishing an independent audit body, with the goal of passing the relevant legislation within this year’s regular session of the National Assembly. The second stage involves pursuing constitutional amendments where necessary, targeting completion by early 2027."

The task force is an internal party organization established by the Democratic Party on June 10. After discussing the framework of the reform proposals at its second meeting, the party plans to hold a related forum on June 17.

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