Jang Donghyuk: “Special Prosecutor Can Investigate All Elections, Including General and Presidential, If Statute of Limitations Remain”

Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, argued that under the Special Prosecutor Act addressing the ballot paper shortage incident of the June 3 local elections, “any investigation is possible as long as the statute of limitations remains.”

People Power Party leader Donghyuk Jang is holding a press conference on the 30th at the National Assembly regarding the Election Commission Special Prosecutor Act that passed the plenary session that day. Photo by Yonhap News

At a press conference held at the National Assembly on July 30 after the passage of the Special Prosecutor Act, Jang stated, “The most important provision and the main point of contention until the final consensus during negotiations over the scope of the investigation was Article 2, Item 10 of the Special Prosecutor Act.”

Article 2, Item 10 of the Special Prosecutor Act designates as subjects of investigation “cases concerning suspicions over the management and maintenance of the National Election Commission’s election management system and deficiencies in its operation.”

Jang explained, “Because the scope is not limited to the 9th local elections, the recent general and presidential elections, and, if necessary, any previous local, general, or presidential elections may all be included in the investigation.” He added, “The ‘election management system’ encompasses all systems, including the electronic systems, ballot counting management systems, and voter registries.”

He further stated, “Since security is explicitly mentioned, investigations into suspicions regarding hacking of servers and similar concerns are, of course, also possible,” noting, “Differences of opinion between the ruling and opposition parties persisted up to the final negotiations over Article 2, Item 10.”

Jang stressed, “What remains now is to properly recommend and appoint the special prosecutor,” emphasizing, “Because a comprehensive investigation is possible, the ability and determination of the special prosecutor will ultimately be key.”

Regarding the method of nominating the special prosecutor through the National Recommendation Committee, he said, “If even just one of the three National Recommendation Committee members nominated by the People Power Party objects, a special prosecutor cannot be recommended,” and added, “If a candidate appears biased toward either side, the People Power Party’s members on the committee will absolutely oppose them.” He continued, “The recommendation process will not proceed until an objective and neutral candidate for special prosecutor is put forward.”

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