[Exclusive] National Election Commission Orders All Employees to Refrain From Taking Leave Amid 'Ballot Paper Shortage Incident'

Official Notice to Refrain from Taking Leave Until July 22
Restriction in Place Until Adoption of National Assembly Investigation Report

The National Election Commission, which caused an unprecedented shortage of ballot papers during the main vote of the 6·3 local elections, has issued a directive to all employees to refrain from taking leave.

According to a summary of reporting by The Asia Business Daily on the 25th, the National Election Commission sent an official notice to all employees on this day titled "Guidance on Refraining from Leave." The period for refraining from leave will last until the adoption of the result report of the "National Assembly investigation into the 6·3 local election ballot paper shortage incident," which is scheduled for the 22nd of next month.

Yonhap News Agency

In the official notice, the National Election Commission stated, "Given the grave situation our commission is facing and the need to promptly respond to requests for materials from the National Assembly, we ask that employees refrain from using annual leave and other forms of vacation (including overseas travel) except for urgent and unavoidable reasons."

The National Assembly's special investigation committee has been examining, over a 45-day period from the 18th of this month to August 1, both the reasons for the shortage of ballot papers and structural issues within the commission, such as election management personnel and budget. At the first agency report session held at the National Assembly on the 23rd, lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties sharply criticized the mass absence of election commissioners and the inadequate submission of materials. They also pointed out the large-scale leave taken by commission staff during the election period.

An official from the National Election Commission confirmed, "It is true that, starting today, a directive has been issued to all employees to refrain from taking leave."

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