Lee Jun-seok calls for parliamentary investigation into ballot shortage, warns of special prosecutor push

Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok called Friday for an immediate parliamentary investigation into ballot shortages at some polling stations during the June 3 local elections, urging both the ruling and opposition parties to act without hesitation and keep the possibility of a re-election on the table.

Writing on his Facebook page Friday, Lee said he had previously pushed back against fraud allegations because their logic did not hold up — but argued the ballot shortage was a different matter entirely. "Who could accept that an agency whose sole job is managing elections failed to properly predict and manage the number of ballots?" he said.

"If it was intentional, people must be held accountable," Lee added. "If it was a systemic failure, the organization's continued existence must be called into question."

Lee also said the ruling party had eroded public trust in all investigative agencies under the Lee Jae Myung administration. "If the ruling party drags its feet and refuses a parliamentary investigation, calls for a special prosecutor could explode," he said. "The opposition must demand an upgrade to a special prosecutor if a parliamentary investigation is not accepted by the end of today."

The National Election Commission announced Thursday that it would establish a fact-finding committee to thoroughly examine the problems, causes and responsibilities surrounding the ballot shortage and disclose all findings to the public.

The commission said in a press release that the committee would be composed primarily of outside experts and tasked with identifying the cause of the incident and developing measures to prevent a recurrence.

It added that the committee would analyze voting records from the affected polling stations and gather firsthand accounts from election officials and staff about conditions on the ground at the time.

The commission said its full board had already decided to make every possible effort to investigate the incident and establish preventive measures as soon as vote counting for the local elections was complete. "We again sincerely apologize for the significant confusion and inconvenience caused to voters in exercising their right to vote," it said.

President Lee Jae Myung also weighed in Thursday, directing relevant agencies at a senior staff meeting at Cheong Wa Dae to use all authority and responsibility at the administration's disposal to clearly establish why the problem occurred and hold those responsible firmly accountable. He ordered that reliable and appropriate measures be drawn up promptly "so that citizens' right to vote is never infringed upon, even in the slightest, ever again."

Cheong Wa Dae chief spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said at a briefing that the election commission must take the matter seriously and move swiftly to conduct a thorough self-review and any necessary follow-up action. "Cheong Wa Dae is monitoring the situation with the utmost gravity," she said.

“명품도 아닌데 ‘69만원’ 짜리 안경”…이걸 누가 사나 했는데, 실제로 써보니

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