Democratic Party Proposes Constitutional Amendment to Dissolve NEC and Subject It to Board of Audit and Inspection

▲ Rep. Song Ki-hun, head of the Democratic Party's Task Force on NEC Reform for the Protection of People's Suffrage, speaks about reform proposals during the 6th TF meeting held at the National Assembly on June 26.

The Democratic Party of Korea announced that it would push for the dissolution of the National Election Commission (NEC), which has been embroiled in controversy over poor management of the June 3 local elections, through a constitutional amendment. The party also plans to make the position of the NEC chairperson a full-time role and subject the commission to audits by the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI).

Rep. Song Ki-hun, head of the Democratic Party's "Task Force on NEC Reform for the Protection of People's Suffrage," stated at a meeting held at the National Assembly today (June 26) that this conclusion was reached after gathering expert opinions and conducting internal discussions.

"We will dissolve the National Election Commission through a constitutional amendment," Rep. Song said. "We will change the name and composition of the commission so that it becomes a constitutional institution that broadly guarantees the people's right to vote."

The Democratic Party also decided to pursue measures including making the NEC chairperson a full-time position, increasing the number of standing commissioners from one to three, and implementing confirmation hearings for the secretary-general.

Currently, the NEC chairperson is elected from among the commissioners, and the role is typically held by a Supreme Court Justice on a non-standing basis.

The party also plans to legalize audits of the NEC.

"We will push for audits of the NEC by the Board of Audit and Inspection to ensure transparency in the overall financial operations of the commission, which has effectively been a sanctuary until now," Rep. Song explained. "We will also legalize the audit committee, which currently operates based on NEC rules, as an independent deliberative body and make it mandatory to report audit results to the National Assembly."

In addition, the establishment of an election management evaluation body and the mandatory submission of white papers by the NEC to the National Assembly were also presented as part of the reform plan.

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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