Joint probe into ballot shortage imminent as parliamentary investigation gains momentum

The ballot shortage that marred the June 3 local elections is set to trigger a sweeping joint investigation by prosecutors and police. After President Lee Jae-myung ordered the formation of a joint investigative task force and a full accounting of the incident, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the Korean National Police Agency began discussions on setting up the body, which could be formally launched as early as Monday. President Lee also asked the National Assembly to pursue a parliamentary investigation into the matter, with both the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party each expected to submit formal investigation requests as early as Monday. A legislative inquiry now appears increasingly likely.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office is reviewing the size, staffing and structure of the task force, centering the effort on its public investigations division, which handles election-related cases. After President Lee announced Sunday that he had ordered the task force's formation, the office said in a public statement that it would "swiftly organize a joint prosecutor-police task force on the matter that disrupted citizens' exercise of their voting rights during the June 3 local elections, and conduct an efficient investigation through close cooperation with police to rigorously establish the truth."

The central legal question for the task force will be whether election commission officials can be shown to have willfully neglected their duties. The charge of dereliction of duty applies when a civil servant refuses or abandons their responsibilities without justifiable cause. Investigators will need to establish that the failures were deliberate rather than the result of simple administrative error.

A lawyer who previously served as a senior prosecutor said in a phone interview that "dereliction of duty requires a conscious act of abandonment or neglect — and some polling stations may well have anticipated a shortage. If they did and took no action, that could constitute neglect." The lawyer added that "whether those who received reports had an obligation to act is a point that will need to be examined, and if reports never reached the official responsible for ballots, that failure itself could amount to dereliction of duty."

According to the National Election Commission, 67 of the country's 14,288 polling stations received additional ballots after running short on election day, when both local elections and National Assembly by-elections were held. Fifty stations experienced actual ballot shortages, and voting was suspended and later resumed at 22 stations.

The NEC said its internal guidelines require a minimum print run of at least 50 percent of total registered voters for local elections and at least 60 percent for National Assembly and presidential elections. Those guidelines have been identified as a contributing factor in the shortage. The task force is expected to examine the internal process by which the minimum print quantities were set, as well as indications that ballots were running low before any voters were actually turned away.

With the task force investigation now a near-certainty, the various complaints filed with law enforcement agencies since the ballot shortage came to light are also expected to be consolidated under the task force.

The Metropolitan Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Monday questioned a representative of the Citizens' Livelihood Committee, a civic group that filed a complaint against NEC Chairman Noh Tae-ak and others on charges of dereliction of duty, abuse of authority, and embezzlement and breach of trust.

The political establishment has also moved against the NEC over the ballot shortage. Both parties are expected to submit parliamentary investigation requests as early as Monday, signaling a concerted effort to subject the constitutionally independent body — long shielded from legislative scrutiny — to meaningful oversight.

Democratic Party floor leader Han Byung-do said at an emergency press briefing Sunday that "the full picture and the truth must be clearly established — including whether there were structural flaws in the NEC's internal systems — and bold reforms must follow." He said the party would submit a parliamentary investigation request and ask the Assembly speaker to convene a plenary session promptly.

The People Power Party is seeking to lead the investigation, demanding the chairmanship of any parliamentary inquiry committee. PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok said at a party supreme council meeting Monday, "Who is responsible for creating the all-powerful NEC we have today?" He argued that only if the PPP leads from the selection of witnesses can the inquiry produce results the public will accept, adding that an investigation run at the Democratic Party's discretion — as he said occurred during the parliamentary probe into the cancellation of Lee Jae-myung's trial — "would be pointless. We will never accept that." Jang also sharply criticized President Lee's order to form the task force, calling it a "task force designed to give the NEC a free pass."

By Choi Eui-jong and Joo So-hyun