'From Sokuri Election to Hiring Corruption Allegations'... The Election Commission in Crisis

Political Sphere Election Commission Hiring Corruption National Investigation Proposed
From Sokuri Election to Ability, Now Morality Suspicions
Questions Raised About Tradition of Chief Justice Serving as Chairman

The National Election Commission (NEC) has fallen into a moral crisis. Following last year's controversy over the Sokuri election, which raised doubts about its election management capabilities, suspicions of recruitment corruption have now surfaced. The situation has become dire, with investigations being pursued by the National Assembly's state audit, the Board of Audit and Inspection, and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.

According to political circles on the 1st, the NEC is under consideration for investigations related to recruitment corruption and a state audit. Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, stated, "Problems related to recruitment continue to emerge, and the NEC has completely refused to cooperate with audits regarding North Korean hacking issues, which is serious enough to be overlooked," adding, "A state audit is necessary to examine the entire institution's problems." The Democratic Party also agreed on the need for a state audit as specific allegations of recruitment corruption came to light. Lee So-young, floor spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said, "We will explore all possible measures to restore public trust in the NEC," and added, "We will also initiate discussions on a state audit at the National Assembly level to thoroughly uncover the truth."

The Board of Audit and Inspection and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission have also announced that they will launch investigations into the NEC.

For now, the NEC decided to request an investigation by law enforcement agencies after its own special audit, released the previous day, reported that former Secretary-General Park Chan-jin, former Deputy Secretary-General Song Bong-seop, a former standing commissioner of the Jeju NEC, and the head of the General Affairs Department of the Gyeongnam NEC may have exerted undue influence in the hiring and promotion processes of their children.

The NEC is currently reviewing options to request investigations by police or prosecutors. The allegations of recruitment corruption mostly arose during the hiring and promotion of experienced personnel. In the case of former Deputy Secretary-General Song, he reportedly disclosed that his child had applied for a position, and former Secretary-General Park is suspected of having approved decisions he should have avoided as the final approver. Additionally, the NEC faced controversy for refusing security inspections by the National Intelligence Service despite attempts of hacking from North Korea, citing political disputes as the reason.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, during the last presidential election, former NEC Commissioner Noh Jeong-hee resigned in disgrace due to problems in election management itself. On April 18 last year, Noh resigned at a full NEC meeting, saying, "I deeply regret the responsibility for managing early voting for confirmed COVID-19 cases in the presidential election." At that time, the NEC applied a temporary polling station method for early voting without preparing for the potential surge in COVID-19 quarantined voters, resulting in the worst record of poor management. Even during the controversy, the NEC announced through its Innovation Committee that it would strengthen internal audit functions by making the audit organization independent and raising the rank of the auditor. However, despite these internal reforms, the NEC now faces a crisis again after just one year.

Kim Dae-hwan, professor at the Seoul National University of Science and Technology Law School, pointed out, "The NEC has been one of the most advanced institutions developed under our constitutional system, even transferring election management technology to third-world countries. However, because the NEC performed so well, it was neglected, and stagnant conditions led to these problems."

Some voices call for reform of the practice where a Supreme Court justice has traditionally served as the NEC chairperson. Professor Kim said, "The Constitution stipulates that the chairperson should be elected among the commissioners by mutual vote. Because the NEC involves many legal matters and election lawsuits are handled by the Supreme Court, it seems to have become customary for a Supreme Court justice to serve as chairperson," adding, "It is appropriate to switch to an election by mutual vote now. This needs to be corrected."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the other hand, there are arguments that the current practice of having a Supreme Court justice serve as NEC chairperson was established for valid reasons. Professor Lim Ji-bong of Sogang University Law School explained, "Among the nine NEC commissioners, three are appointed by the president, three by the National Assembly, and three by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Those appointed by the president or National Assembly may be less free from political influence, whereas the Chief Justice is considered politically neutral, which is why it became customary for a Supreme Court justice to be elected as NEC chairperson." Professor Lim added, "In the NEC, actual administration is handled by standing commissioners or the secretary-general, not the chairperson, who plays a role in overseeing them. This is the rationale behind electing a Supreme Court justice as chairperson by mutual vote."

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