“We Will Ensure Voting Rights Are Never Violated Again”… National Investigation Plan on Ballot Paper Shortage Passed by Bipartisan Agreement (Comprehensive)

National Assembly Passes 30 Bills in Plenary Session
Proceedings Held Without Proposal Explanations Due to Unformed Standing Committees

On June 18, the National Assembly convened a plenary session and approved the "National Investigation Plan for Fact-Finding on the Infringement of Public Suffrage, Including the Ballot Shortage Incident in the Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections, and for Reforms in Election Management."

At the plenary session that day, the National Assembly passed the ballot shortage investigation plan with 250 votes in favor and one against out of 251 members present. The national investigation was agreed upon after negotiations between the ruling and opposition party floor leaders.

Yoon Sang-hyun, Assemblyman from the People Power Party and chair of the special investigation committee, stated in his proposal explanation, "The special committee pledges before the public that we will make every effort to uncover the truth and implement comprehensive reforms in election management so that the precious right to vote — the most fundamental means by which the people, as sovereigns, delegate power — will never be undermined again."

The special investigation committee will cover not only the circumstances surrounding the ballot shortage incident and whether there was negligence in establishing the criteria and guidelines for determining the quantity of ballots to be printed, but also examine structural issues across the entire organizational system, such as the management of election personnel and the appropriateness of budget execution. It will also address comprehensive system reforms and measures to prevent recurrence. The agencies subject to the investigation are the National Election Commission and each local election commission. The investigation period is set for 45 days, until August 1, but can be extended by a resolution of the National Assembly plenary session.

In addition to the special investigation committee plan and the 2025 national audit report, the plenary session also passed 30 bills that were tabled for review.

Jo Jung-sik, Speaker of the National Assembly, declared the approval of the plan for a national investigation into the infringement of the public's voting rights caused by the shortage of ballots in the 9th nationwide simultaneous local elections and reforms in election management at the third plenary session of the June extraordinary session of the National Assembly held on the 18th. Photo by Yonhap News

Speaker of the National Assembly Jo Jung-sik said, "Today, 30 bills have been processed in the plenary session, but 57 other agenda items remain unresolved. I urge both parties to accelerate their negotiations so that these can be addressed at the next session." He added, "For the legislative clock on livelihood issues to resume running fully, the composition of the latter half of the Assembly must be completed as soon as possible." Speaker Jo continued, "Currently, about 140 bills that have passed the standing committees are awaiting review by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and there are also a considerable number of bills still waiting to be reviewed at the committee level. I urge the floor leaders of both parties to expedite negotiations on the organization of the Assembly."

As the standing committees that would normally report on the progress of reviews had not yet been formed, the plenary session proceeded directly to voting without any verbal reports.

Among the bills passed in the plenary session was an amendment to the "Act on the Management of Livestock and Livestock Products Traceability," which increases the penalty for falsifying traceability numbers from a fine or surcharge of up to 5 million won to imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million won. Additionally, an amendment to the "Act on Fostering and Supporting Rural Convergence Industries" passed, allowing for support to rural convergence industry operators facing increased business burdens due to sharp rises in international energy prices. Another bill that passed was the amendment to the "Framework Act on Disaster and Safety Management," which mandates that heads of local governments establish evacuation plans for vulnerable groups and support the evacuation of those who cannot evacuate on their own during a disaster according to these plans.

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