2.47 Million Ballots at Olympic Park to Undergo Public Verification; Ruling and Opposition Parties to Discuss Details

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Some 2.47 million ballots currently stored at Olympic Park in Jamsil, Seoul, are expected to be removed from ballot boxes for public verification. During a National Assembly parliamentary investigation today (July 7), the National Election Commission (NEC) pledged to conduct a re-verification, and both the ruling and opposition parties have expressed their agreement.

Reporter Go Jeong-hyeon has the story.

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The second on-site investigation by the National Assembly's special committee on the parliamentary probe into the ballot shortage incident was held at the National Election Commission today.

The NEC stated that it is possible to conduct a public verification of the Songpa-gu ballots currently stored at the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium.

[Kang Dong-wan/Acting Secretary-General of the NEC: If the special committee decides on a timeline... I would suggest that it be done as soon as possible.]

While most members of the special committee agreed on the need for a swift public verification,

[Yoon Sang-hyun/Chairman of the National Assembly Special Committee for Parliamentary Investigation: To gain public trust, we must go through a recount process.]

The Democratic Party demanded that the NEC establish a plan for what to do if the count differs after the verification,

[Kim Nam-hee/Democratic Party lawmaker: The number of ballots might not match. If the number (from the re-verification) differs from what is on the election vote counting report, what will you do then?]

The People Power Party requested that the scope be expanded to include judgments on valid and invalid ballots.

[Choi Bo-yoon/People Power Party lawmaker: I am requesting a reconsideration of your assertion that judgments on valid or invalid ballots should be left solely to legal election disputes.]

There are a total of 2.47 million Songpa-gu ballots stored at Olympic Park.

The NEC reported a plan to spend 50 million won to have 440 people conduct a manual count over nine hours, with the process open to the special committee, candidate-recommended observers, and the media.

However, the NEC emphasized that the purpose of the re-verification is to prove that the stored ballots are identical to those cast on the day of the June 3 local elections and have not been altered, and that it carries no legal effect such as determining valid/invalid ballots or changing the election results.

Democratic Party Floor Leader Han Byung-do stated that the recount and manual counting would be pursued through consultations between the ruling and opposition parties, and People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun, who chairs the special committee, also said that the location and method of the recount would be discussed through bipartisan agreement.

Reported by Oh Young-chun and Shin Dong-hwan | Video by Lee Seung-hee | Graphics by Jang Chae-woo and Park Tae-young | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.