Special Parliamentary Probe on Ballot Shortage Begins in Earnest... Calls for Disbandment Raised by Both Parties

Yoon Sanghyun: "A Disaster Serious Enough to Consider Dissolution"

Lee Haesik: "Reform Needed, Even If It Requires Constitutional Amendment"

Special Committee Holds First Session on Ballot Shortage Incident

On June 18, the Special Committee for a National Investigation on the Ballot Shortage Crisis held its first meeting, during which lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties harshly criticized the National Election Commission for its poor election management, even raising the need for a complete organizational overhaul that could amount to its dissolution.

That morning, the "National Investigation Special Committee on the Simultaneous Local Election Ballot Shortage Crisis, Violation of the People's Voting Rights, and Election Management Reform" convened its first plenary session at the National Assembly and appointed Sanghyun Yoon, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, as committee chairman. Yoon Kunyoung from the Democratic Party of Korea and Seo Beomsoo from the People Power Party were appointed as secretaries representing their respective parties.

On June 18, at the first plenary session of the "National Investigation Special Committee on the Simultaneous Local Election Ballot Shortage Crisis, Violation of the People's Voting Rights, and Election Management Reform" held at the National Assembly, Committee Chairman Sanghyun Yoon is speaking. 2026.6.18 Photo by Hyunmin Kim

In his opening remarks, Chairman Yoon stated, "The people's right to vote and participate in politics is an inviolable and paramount value," adding, "The June 3 ballot shortage incident is a grave disaster that goes far beyond a simple administrative mistake by the Election Commission—it is serious enough to warrant considering the commission's dissolution."

Calls for sweeping reform came not only from the People Power Party but also from the Democratic Party. Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Hae-sik argued, "The fact that the Election Commission is a constitutionally independent body was one of the root causes of this crisis," and insisted, "It is time to discuss fundamental reforms of the Election Commission, including measures nearing dissolution, even if it requires constitutional amendment."

Yang Bunam, another Democratic Party lawmaker, also commented, "We need to fundamentally debate whether the Election Commission is truly necessary," and added, "We should examine whether a system like those in other countries—where administrative agencies temporarily join forces to manage elections—is more reasonable."

Lawmakers from both parties agreed that the focus should be on uncovering the truth and reforming the system, rather than engaging in partisan conflict. It was also pointed out that allegations and the actual shortcomings in the Election Commission's management should be clearly distinguished and addressed separately.

Lee Junseok, a lawmaker from the Reform Party, stated, "When you go out into the streets, you see a mix of various political claims, contradictions from the Election Commission, and public anger over the violation of voting rights," emphasizing, "Politicians need to separate and address these issues distinctly." He further noted, "When baseless allegations become entangled with current problems, it becomes impossible to analyze the situation or propose solutions."

The special committee also approved its investigation plan on the same day. The scope of the investigation includes the process for calculating the number of ballots to be printed, on-site management conditions, the Election Commission’s chain of command and post-incident response, instances of infringement on voting rights, and the management of the election budget and personnel.

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