'Ballot Paper Shortage' Investigation Committee Recommends Probe of Noh Taeak... Calls for Overhaul Tantamount to Dismantling Election Commission (Comprehensive)

Recommendation for Investigation of Former Chairman Noh and Disciplinary Action for Six Staff Members

Proposal to Raise Ballot Printing Ratio to 70% and Make Chairman Position Full-Time

Discussion on Including Election Commission in Board of

The Vote Paper Shortage Investigation Committee on the 19th recommended an investigation into former Central Election Management Committee Chairman Noh Taeak and related committee officials, while also demanding sweeping reforms akin to the dismantling of the Election Management Committee. The committee proposed converting the position of Central Election Management Committee Chairman to a full-time post and raising the printing ratio of ballot papers to 70 percent.

On the 19th, the committee publicly released the results of its investigation into the ballot paper shortage incident that emerged during the June 3 local elections.

Investigation Results

According to the investigation, among 14,288 polling stations nationwide during the local elections, 140 received additional ballot papers, 91 actually used the additional papers, and voting was suspended at 26 stations.

On the 19th, at the Central Election Management Committee in Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, Hyunwook Jo, Chairman of the Vote Paper Shortage Investigation Committee, is giving a final briefing on the investigation results. Photo by Yonhap News.

Regarding the background of the ballot paper printing reduction directive, which is considered a major cause of this incident, the committee determined, "In December 2025, the Secretary General unilaterally adjusted the lower limit for ballot paper printing to 50 percent of registered voters." The Election Management Committee cited the following reasons for the reduction: waste of budget due to excessive leftover ballot papers, limited storage space, disposal costs, and suspicions of election fraud in the case of overprinting. However, the investigation committee criticized this, stating, "The reasoning is misguided and represents an extremely bureaucratic approach that undermined citizens' constitutional right to vote," and "despite being a matter central to election management standards, the decision was made unilaterally by the Secretary General without discussion or resolution by the Central Committee."

The reporting structure was also scrutinized. The committee noted, "During the ballot paper shortage, there was no functioning rapid reporting system to higher-level committees, nor did higher-level committees exercise any command authority," and described it as "a total breakdown of the reporting chain and a systemic failure in election management." The committee also pointed out that the decision to extend voting at polling stations in Songpa-gu was made by the Seoul Election Management Committee without reporting to or discussing with the Central Election Management Committee, deeming this inappropriate.

Based on the findings, the committee recommended that former Central Election Management Committee Chairman Noh and officials from the Central, Seoul City, and Songpa-gu election management committees be referred for investigation. In addition, disciplinary action was recommended for six working-level staff members.

System Improvements

Regarding this incident, the committee stated that "a sweeping reform of the Election Management Committee akin to dismantlement is necessary, and measures must be put in place to prevent recurrence." In particular, the committee recommended raising the ballot paper printing ratio that triggered the incident. Specifically, it stated, "The minimum ballot paper printing ratio should be increased to at least 70 percent." Considering early voting and other factors, the committee effectively called for ensuring a 100 percent supply. Furthermore, the committee acknowledged the need to retain some unnumbered ballot papers for replacement in case of damage, public announcement of ballot paper templates, and registration in ballot sorting machines, but emphasized the need to minimize their use.

The committee also suggested converting the position of Central Election Management Committee Chairman to full-time. It stated, "Because the Chairman serves part-time, important policy decisions are delayed and there is insufficient focus on election management work. It is necessary to introduce a full-time system to ensure responsible operation." The committee further added, "There needs to be a social discussion about whether to introduce a full-time system for the heads of city/provincial and district/county election committees as well."

Other suggestions included reducing the approval authority of the Central Election Management Committee's Secretariat and strengthening accountability, revising manuals to focus on on-site response procedures for incidents and accidents, establishing a real-time monitoring system to track voter turnout at each polling station, and clarifying the scope of authority between the central and local election management committees.

The committee also argued that the Election Management Committee should be subject to audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection. The committee stated, "Due to a Constitutional Court decision, the Election Management Committee is currently exempt from oversight by the Board of Audit and Inspection, resulting in insufficient external control," and added, "It is necessary to revise the system so that the Election Management Committee is included within the Board of Audit and Inspection's scope of audit."

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