[Anchor]
The National Assembly is holding a meeting of the Special Committee on the State Investigation to uncover the causes of the ballot shortage incident. Wi Chul-hwan, Acting Chairperson of the National Election Commission (NEC), bowed his head, stating that he feels a heavy sense of responsibility for the situation.
Reporter Kim Bo-mi has the report.
[Reporter]
The Special Committee on the State Investigation, formed to identify the causes of the ballot shortage and reform the election management system, began its full-scale operations with a plenary session this morning (June 23).
Chairperson Yoon Sang-hyun emphasized the gravity of the situation before proceeding with the session, declaring that a thorough investigation would be conducted.
[Yoon Sang-hyun/Chairperson of the Special Committee on the Ballot Shortage Investigation: I would like to say one thing. The independence of the National Election Commission, guaranteed by the Constitution, is meant to ensure accountability to the people, not to provide a free pass after infringing upon their right to vote.]
The ruling and opposition parties had previously subpoenaed approximately 40 current and former NEC officials as witnesses, including former NEC Chairperson Roh Tae-ak and nine other NEC commissioners.
However, lawmakers from both sides unleashed a barrage of criticism as key figures directly involved in the incident, such as former Seoul Election Commission Chairperson Oh Min-seok and former Songpa-gu Election Commission Chairperson Min So-young, failed to attend.
[Shin Dong-wook/People Power Party lawmaker: How can we proceed smoothly, Mr. Chairperson, when not a single person who should be testifying as a key figure regarding this incident has shown up and they are all absent like this?]
[Kim Young-bae/Democratic Party lawmaker: They should know better than anyone what this situation means for our constitutional order, and the fact that they are absent from this seat shows just how irresponsible their attitude is.]
During the agency report, Acting Chairperson Wi Chul-hwan apologized to the public, stating that he feels a heavy sense of responsibility for the incident.
[Wi Chul-hwan/Acting Chairperson of the National Election Commission: I feel miserable and heartbroken that this has happened again due to insufficient preparation and response in election management.]
The special committee resolved to receive a second agency report from the NEC and local election commissions on July 1, conduct an on-site investigation on July 8, and hold two rounds of hearings thereafter.
(Video Editing: Jeon Min-gyu)
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