National Investigation Committee Calls for Stronger Election Commission Audits... Divergence on Constitutional Amendments, Early Voting

Expert Meeting of the National Election Commission Special Investigation Committee
Consensus on Strengthening Accountability of the National Election Commission
Debate Over Constitutional Amendments and Early Voting System Reform

At the expert meeting of the 'Special Committee on National Investigation into the Shortage of Ballots in the June 3 Local Elections and Reform of the National Election Commission,' held on July 8 at the National Assembly, participants agreed that an independent audit system should be strengthened to enhance the accountability of the National Election Commission. However, opinions diverged over the necessity of constitutional amendment for the commission’s reform and whether the early voting system should be revised.

The special committee held an expert meeting at the National Assembly on that day to discuss organizational reform of the Election Commission and ways to improve voting and vote-counting systems. Experts recommended by both ruling and opposition parties concurred that, to prevent a recurrence of the ballot shortage incident, the accountability of the Election Commission must be increased and its oversight system reinforced.

On the 8th, participants at the expert meeting of the 'Special Committee on National Investigation into the Shortage of Ballots in the June 3 Local Elections' held at the National Assembly presented their opinions on the reform direction of the National Election Commission. Photo by Yonhap News

Some experts raised the need for constitutional amendment as a fundamental solution for reforming the Election Commission, arguing that the nomination structure for central election commissioners and the judiciary-centered composition of the commission should be revised.

Im Jibong, Professor at Sogang University Law School, stated, "The most fundamental measure for reforming the Election Commission is constitutional amendment," adding, "If such amendment is pursued, the provision granting the Chief Justice the right to nominate three central election commissioners should be deleted." He further noted, "The current structure, which allows the Chief Justice—another appointed official—to be involved in the composition of the Election Commission, an independent constitutional institution, needs to be reconsidered."

There were also opinions that an independent supervisory body for the Election Commission should be established or audit functions should be strengthened. However, some expressed caution regarding the expansion of the Board of Audit and Inspection’s authority to audit the Election Commission’s duties.

Cha Jina, Professor at Korea University Law School, said, "Although there is discussion on expanding the Board of Audit and Inspection’s authority over the Election Commission through a single-point constitutional amendment, this could be unconstitutional," adding, "The Board of Audit and Inspection cannot have audit authority over the Election Commission, which is an independent constitutional body."

She further argued, "Even if the Board of Audit and Inspection is transferred to fall under the National Assembly, since the National Assembly is also a stakeholder in elections, its independence could be compromised. If audits are to be conducted through the Board of Audit and Inspection, the only solution is to reform it as an independent institution."

Ha Sang-eung, Professor of Political Science and Diplomacy at Sogang University, pointed to the structure of the Election Commission, which is centered on non-permanent members, as the root cause of this incident. According to current law, the Central Election Commission is composed of nine members, of whom only one is a standing member, while the remaining eight are non-standing members.

Professor Ha stated, "To strengthen the accountability of the Central Election Commission, the chairperson’s position should become full-time, and the number of standing commissioners should be increased to three. In addition, education for local government officials who handle voting and counting operations should be enhanced, and an appropriate compensation system should be established."

Jung Taeho, Professor Emeritus at Kyung Hee University Law School, said, "This incident revealed a lack of crisis management capability rather than a breakdown of discipline." He argued that an independent audit body, separate from the secretariat, should be institutionalized, and that the audit organization should be composed mainly of external experts.

Kim Hyunsook, a research fellow at the Institute for Innovation Policy, also said that the Election Commission’s audit body should be institutionalized as an independent decision-making body, and that organizational expertise should be enhanced by including IT, data, and logistics experts in the committee.

During the meeting, there were also conflicting opinions regarding the early voting system. Yoon Sanghyun, chair of the special committee, pointed out, "The official campaign period for general and local elections is 13 days, but early voting takes place 4 to 5 days prior, which is disadvantageous for political newcomers." Professor Cha also raised concerns that, if candidates withdraw or unify after early voting, voters’ intentions may not be fully reflected.

On the other hand, civic activist Ryu Jongryeol argued, "If early voting is abolished, suffrage could be far more restricted, as it was during the era of absentee voting," advocating for the retention of the system. Professor Jung also opposed abolition, saying, "The early voting system is an achievement of democracy that has realized the principle of universal suffrage."

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