Seoyounggyo: "Central Election Commission Must Reflect on Early Voting Issues Themselves"

Joint Meeting of Standing Committees and Whips for Implementing the Democratic Party's Livelihood Reform Bills

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Seo Young-kyo, Chairperson of the Administrative Safety Committee affiliated with the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out on the 14th that "the National Election Commission should reflect on itself" regarding various issues surrounding the early voting for the presidential election.

Chairperson Seo made these remarks during the 'Joint Meeting of Standing Committee Chairpersons and Whips for the Implementation of Livelihood Reform Bills' held in the afternoon at the National Assembly, presided over by Yoon Ho-jung, Emergency Response Committee Chairperson of the Democratic Party, stating, "There were problems with early voting related to COVID-19 confirmed cases in this presidential election."

She went a step further from the Democratic Party's previous criticism of 'poor management' to raise the issue of accountability. However, she did not directly name the individuals responsible.

Regarding this, Chairperson Seo said, "Despite repeated calls in the National Assembly for countermeasures, the election commission officials only kept repeating 'We can do it,' and they must now show accountability," adding, "Through this, a better election management system can be established."

She also added, "It is necessary to check the site," emphasizing the need to identify what problems occurred on-site, thoroughly reflect on them, and promise that such incidents will never happen again.

The National Election Commission sparked controversy on the last day of early voting for the March 9 presidential election, March 5, when ballots marked by COVID-19 confirmed and quarantined voters were transferred to ballot boxes in plastic bags, paper boxes, or plastic baskets. Additionally, during this process, ballots marked for a specific candidate were distributed to other confirmed or quarantined voters.

As criticism of early voting intensified, Roh Jung-hee, Chairperson of the National Election Commission (Supreme Court Justice), expressed regret on the 8th, stating, "As the Chairperson, I deeply regret and apologize for the confusion and inconvenience caused by inadequate preparation in managing early voting for confirmed and quarantined voters conducted on March 5."

Although confusion decreased during the main vote on the 9th, vote counting was halted at some polling stations due to the appearance of ballots in colors different from the usual white ballots.

Civil organizations such as the Action Alliance for the Restoration of the Rule of Law (Beopse-ryeon), the Free Korea Patriotic Corps, the Committee for the Protection of Ordinary People's Livelihoods, and the Speculative Capital Monitoring Center filed complaints against Chairperson Roh and other National Election Commission officials with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. The Public Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Choi Chang-min), which was assigned the case, is currently investigating.

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