Democratic Party Proposes Three Election Commission Reform Bills... Full-Time Chairperson and Secretary-General Confirmation Hearing Introduced
Forum on Constitutional Amendment for Election Commission Reform Scheduled for July 20
The Democratic Party of Korea’s Task Force (TF) for Election System Reform to Protect Citizens’ Suffrage has decided to propose an amendment for the National Election Commission (NEC) reform, which includes making the Chairperson of the NEC a full-time position and introducing a National Assembly confirmation hearing for the Secretary-General of the NEC.
On July 9 at the National Assembly, the TF held a press conference and stated, "In the recent local elections, there was a shortage of ballot papers at 141 polling stations nationwide, and at 26 polling stations, the supply of ballot papers was completely suspended, resulting in an unprecedented halt to voting." The TF added, "The facts revealed through the parliamentary investigation show that the NEC did not comply with relevant laws and regulations, and that not only were there no contingency plans in place, but the reporting and command systems also failed to function properly when the situation occurred."
The Democratic Party’s NEC reform proposal consists of three legislative bills: the National Election Commission Act, the National Assembly Act, and the Personnel Hearing Act. The amendment to the National Election Commission Act aims to make the currently part-time Chairperson of the NEC a full-time position, thereby establishing a system for more substantive management and supervision of the NEC’s key work. In addition, the number of full-time NEC commissioners would be increased from one to three, with each commissioner responsible for election and voting management, investigation and enforcement, and organizational operations, respectively.
The TF also seeks to revise the Personnel Hearing Act to allow the Secretary-General of the NEC to be appointed from outside the organization, subject to a National Assembly confirmation hearing. Through this process, the TF aims to publicly verify the expertise and integrity of the candidate. Moreover, the reform plan includes establishing an independent audit committee composed entirely of external members and creating an audit system based on legal grounds.
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The TF is also pursuing constitutional amendments as part of its efforts. The TF stated, "As an independent constitutional body, the NEC is guaranteed a high degree of autonomy, and therefore requires a corresponding level of accountability and transparency. We are preparing for fundamental reforms, including changes to the NEC’s name and composition, through a constitutional amendment." In line with this, a public debate will be held on July 20 to prepare a constitutional amendment proposal for the NEC.
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