Ruling and Opposition Parties Agree on Special Prosecutor Law for Election Commission...Bill Expected to Pass Plenary Session

The ruling and opposition parties have reached an agreement on the details of a special prosecutor act for the National Election Commission, in relation to the ballot shortage incident that occurred during the 9th simultaneous local elections.

On July 30, the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party held a 2+2 meeting at the National Assembly, attended by each party’s floor leader and deputy floor leader, and reached this agreement, according to Junho Cheon, Deputy Floor Leader for Operations of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Seungsu Kim, Deputy Floor Leader of the People Power Party. The negotiation also resulted in a consensus on the scope and subjects of the special prosecutor's investigation, which had been a final point of contention.

Byungdo Han, Acting Leader and Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Jeongsik Jung, Floor Leader of the People Power Party (second and third from the right), are agreeing on a bill concerning the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the mismanagement of election administration, including the shortage of ballots in the 9th simultaneous local elections, on July 21 in the Chairman's Office of the National Assembly Steering Committee. From the right, Junho Cheon, Deputy Floor Leader for Operations of the Democratic Party of Korea, Acting Leader Han, Floor Leader Jung, and Seungsu Kim, Deputy Floor Leader of the People Power Party. July 21, 2026. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

Deputy Floor Leader Cheon stated, "There has been discussion regarding the scope and subjects of the investigation by the special prosecutor, and the agreed-upon details will be delivered to the legislative committee secretaries of both parties in the form of a written agreement." He added, "The secretaries will proceed with the specific drafting of the bill, and since agreement has been reached on all but a few details, the measure is expected to be finalized promptly."

According to the agreement, both parties plan to complete the legislative drafting of the bill and, after a review in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee later in the day, process the bill at the plenary session. As a result, both the party caucuses and the plenary session were slightly delayed.

Previously, the ruling and opposition parties agreed to form a Public Recommendation Committee to nominate candidates for the special prosecutor to investigate the National Election Commission. If the Korean Bar Association and the Association of Law Schools each recommend three candidates, the Public Recommendation Committee will reach a consensus to recommend two of them. The President will then appoint one of the two jointly nominated by the committee as the special prosecutor.

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