[Reporter Becomes Election Commissioner]② No Election Above the Law... Regulations Are the Foundation of All Procedures

On the afternoon of May 19, when the first meeting of the Seoul Football Association President By-election Management Committee was held at the meeting room of Hyochang Stadium in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, the eight committee members met face-to-face for the first time since the committee was formed. Everyone greeted each other with smiles and exchanged business cards, but there was also a sense of tension and pressure on their faces. The responsibility of overseeing a by-election that had to be held again due to procedural issues was inevitably more significant and weighty than any other election.

The stack of documents neatly arranged with nameplates at the members' seats was equally heavy and thick. These were materials related to various regulations that needed to be understood to conduct the election, as well as information about the 14th Seoul Football Association President election held in January 2021, which was later declared invalid. Among them, the reporter separately organized and kept the Seoul Football Association President Election Regulations and the Seoul Sports Council Member Sports Organization Regulations and carefully read them throughout the election period. The election regulations consisted of 34 articles, from Article 1 to Article 34. They defined the purpose and scope of the regulations, the establishment of the election management committee, and the necessary procedures from voting to winning. If there were matters not covered in the 34 articles or unforeseen issues during the election, the higher authority’s regulations?the Seoul Sports Council Member Sports Organization Regulations?or authoritative interpretations were to be followed.

Documents related to election regulations and election agenda that I frequently checked during the Seoul Football Association by-election period
[Photo by Kim Hyung-min]

Worried about any possible gaps... repeatedly reviewing the regulations

The regulations seemed to have no major gaps to ensure transparent and fair election management. It seemed that as long as the people managing the election carefully reviewed and applied the regulations, everything would be fine. The reporter was worried that missing any clause in the regulations might cause problems in election management, so carried the regulation book in a bag and read it repeatedly. However, the actual election management process required even more meticulous attention. Disputes often arose from minor details in the regulation clauses. The phrase "No election stands above the law" came to mind.

It was like that from the first meeting. The election management committee had to discuss and decide on the allocation of the number of electors to be formed according to the indirect election method, the timing of preparing and notifying the voter list, and the date and time of voting.

Even deciding on the voting date and time involved many opinions. It could not be decided hastily. If there was no reasonable basis for the designated voting date, controversy could arise among voters and candidates. According to Article 14 of the election regulations, in the case of a by-election, it must be held within 30 days from the date the reason is confirmed, and voting must be conducted within 60 days. This election was held because former President Choi Jae-ik was declared invalid by the Supreme Court. The reason was Choi’s ruling, but opinions differed on whether the confirmation date should be considered as April 27, when the Supreme Court ruling was issued, or May 3, when the ruling document was delivered to the association. After much discussion, it was decided to use May 3, the date the ruling document was delivered, as the reference point, and the vote was scheduled for June 27. June 27 was within 60 days from both April 27 and May 3, so there was no issue. Additionally, concerns were reflected that extending the election until July would leave the president’s position vacant for too long, which could disrupt the association’s operations. The voting hours were set from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., referencing the previous election to maximize voter participation.

Voting scene. Unrelated to the article content.
Photo by Asia Economy DB

Since elections are run by people, mistakes are acknowledged and fully disclosed

The allocation of the number of electors also had to be handled with particular care. The election management committee decided to set the total number of electors at 100 and discussed how to allocate the number of electors by occupational groups. According to the regulations, 51 delegates already designated, such as presidents of district football associations in Seoul, were maintained as is, and the committee could allocate electors among four occupational groups: coaches, referees, players, and football enthusiasts. Allocating more electors to one group could raise fairness issues.

The total number of electors was 100. Excluding the 51 designated delegates, 12 electors were allocated to each of the four groups?coaches, referees, players, and enthusiasts?with one group receiving one additional elector. There were various opinions on which group should receive the extra elector, but it was ultimately decided to allocate 13 electors to the enthusiasts. Since the total number of enthusiasts was larger compared to coaches, referees, and players, it was judged that more electors should be proportionally allocated to them.

Subsequently, the association secretariat selected electors by occupational group according to Articles 4 and 5 of the election regulations. Depending on the size of each group, procedures were conducted to ensure fair designation of electors by drawing lots directly on-site or using a computer program for automatic drawing. The reporter attended the "Registered Organization Delegate Election Meeting" held on May 30 at the Hyochang Stadium meeting room and personally drew a ball containing the name of the organization with the right hand. Thinking that the election could be influenced by the ball drawn by their hand, the reporter mixed the balls in the drawing box two or three times before drawing each ball. After the drawing, all the undrawn balls were taken out and opened in front of everyone to confirm there were no irregularities, and the number of balls and the number of delegates selected through the drawing were compared with a separately prepared list to ensure transparency in the procedure.

However, despite these efforts, administrative errors occurred because elections are run by people. Among the 12 referees in the elector group, one elector was 15 years old. According to the fundamental principle of our law, which grants voting rights from the age of 18, that person had to be excluded. Also, according to Article 6 of the election regulations, which states that if an ineligible person is selected, no re-drawing is conducted to fill the vacancy but the elector group is finalized with the reduced number, the elector group was finalized at 99 instead of the originally planned 100. Furthermore, it was judged necessary to inform everyone of this fact, so the elector list was announced on the association’s website with a separate notice stating that "the number of electors changed due to an administrative error."

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