Lawmakers from both parties blast election commission over ballot shortage at assembly audit

Lawmakers from both parties leveled sharp criticism at the National Election Commission during the National Assembly's Interior and Safety Committee audit on Wednesday, with most of the fire directed at the commission's handling of the ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections.

Democratic Party lawmaker Yun Geon-yeong questioned why the commission had not pushed for a recount despite hundreds of billions of won in losses stemming from the situation at Olympic Park. "It has been more than 100 days since Olympic Park was turned into a lawless zone, with hundreds of billions of won in damages piling up — couldn't you at least call for a recount?" he said. "You need to act, not just watch."

He then said the commission had stood by while Olympic Park spent 124 days serving as "a playground for some far-right forces who claim South Korean police are Chinese public security agents."

Democratic Party lawmaker Yang Bu-nam pressed the commission further, invoking the parliamentary investigation special committee. He said the Democratic Party's recommendation that the number of ballots to be printed be decided by a formal vote of the full NEC had not been adopted, and criticized the commission for showing no willingness to improve. "There is absolutely no will to reform. It makes me wonder why we even bothered with the parliamentary investigation special committee," he said.

The People Power Party joined in the criticism. PPP lawmaker Park Sang-ung said the chaos surrounding the NEC's operations during the June 3 local elections had made South Korean democracy "a laughingstock of the world." He scolded the commission for responding with little more than apologies. "The NEC has been getting by with words like 'we are ashamed' and 'we will reform root and branch' — that is not good enough," he said.

Lawmakers from both parties also criticized the commission over its document submissions.

PPP lawmaker Kwon Yeong-jin, who had requested records on NEC civil servants under investigation, said the commission could not claim ignorance. "Are you saying the NEC has no idea that these people are under investigation on hiring fraud charges that shook the entire country?" he said. "Saying that amounts to dereliction of duty."

Democratic Party lawmaker Park Ju-min demanded the submission of documents related to large political fund donations. "You managed things poorly, and now you won't even hand over the documents and just ask us to trust you — that doesn't fly," he said.