PPP submits parliamentary investigation request over ballot shortage at June 3 local elections

By Jung Seok-jun, The Herald Business

The People Power Party submitted a parliamentary investigation request to the National Assembly on Monday, calling for a probe into the ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections and targeting the National Election Commission and other relevant bodies.

Floor spokespersons Kwak Kyu-taek and Choi Su-jin, along with floor deputy leader Choi Eun-seok, filed the request — signed by all 110 PPP lawmakers — at the National Assembly's bill-processing office. The document calls for a parliamentary investigation into both the ballot shortage at the June 3 local elections and what the party described as a violent police crackdown during the removal of ballot boxes.

The PPP said the probe's scope should cover the causes and circumstances of the ballot shortage, decisions to conduct vote-counting simultaneously with ongoing voting and to refuse to halt the count, and a full survey of the extent to which voters' political rights were infringed as a result of the shortage, as well as questions of electoral validity.

The party said the investigation must also establish the facts behind what it called a violent police crackdown during the removal of ballot boxes — a matter explicitly named in the request's title.

In addition, the party said the probe should examine the circumstances under which broadcasters released exit poll results before voting had ended, matters related to electoral validity, guidelines governing ballot printing, the legality and appropriateness of the printing, distribution, sealing, storage and removal of ballots, the appropriateness of budget execution, and any other allegations or issues that arise during the investigation.

The PPP called for the special parliamentary investigation committee to have 18 members, split equally between the ruling and opposition parties at nine each, with the chairmanship going to the PPP as the largest opposition party.

The investigation period would run 60 days from the committee's formation, with the possibility of an extension left open if needed.

Kwak, who also chairs the party's legal advisory committee, told reporters that the number of committee members should be discussed on an equal basis between the parties, and that the Democratic Party should allow the opposition to take the chairmanship this time.

Asked why the two parties submitted separate rather than joint requests, Kwak said the floor leadership of both parties had discussed the matter and decided each would file independently before negotiating afterward.

Under the National Audit and Investigation Act, a parliamentary investigation can proceed once at least one-quarter of sitting lawmakers submit a request, the ruling and opposition parties agree on the investigation's purpose, scope and duration, and the full Assembly approves the resulting investigation plan.

With both parties having submitted their requests Monday, the floor leadership is expected to begin negotiations over the investigation's duration, targets and scope, as well as the composition of the special committee. If an agreement is reached, the Assembly is expected to adopt the investigation plan at its next plenary session.

Meanwhile, the PPP said it plans to introduce a special prosecutor act related to the incident in the near future.