Chung Jeom-sik: "Decision on Election Petition Made Regardless of Political Gain, Despite Deliberations on Scope"

People Power Party Floor Leader Chung Jeom-sik explained today (June 16) the party leadership's decision to file election petitions regarding "polling stations with insufficient ballots" in six regions, including Seoul. He stated, "We made this decision based on the belief that it aligns with the principle of fair elections to carefully examine how the infringement of voting rights—such as the shortage of ballots—affected the election results in polling stations where such incidents clearly occurred."

During the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly, the floor leader emphasized, "There were deliberations on how far to set the scope of the election petitions, as it is difficult to even gauge the extent to which voting rights were infringed. The People Power Party made this decision by prioritizing the restoration of the people's voting rights above all else, rather than the party's political gains or losses."

Later, while meeting with reporters, he said, "This is not a rejection of the Seoul mayoral election results at all," adding, "Since the Reform Party already filed an election petition for the Seoul mayoral race yesterday, the structure is such that the National Election Commission has no choice but to review that part, even if we do not file a petition for the Seoul mayoral election."

He drew a line, stating, "It is inappropriate to make various political interpretations based on this."

He also added, "When we uphold the will of the people gathered in Jamsil, it is not right to determine the scope (of the election petition) based on partisan interests."

Regarding the decision to hold an emergency Supreme Council meeting to approve the filing of the election petitions before the general meeting of lawmakers on the 18th, he explained, "Since the subject of filing an election petition is a political party, it must be done in the name of the party leader, so it was discussed at the Supreme Council." He continued, "Before that, lawmakers from 'Alternatives and Future' suggested, 'There are various problems, so it would be better to exclude the Seoul mayoral election,' and I conveyed that opinion to the Supreme Council, saying, 'Since this opinion has been presented, we should consider this as well when making a decision.'"

Floor Leader Chung emphasized, "We must file these election petitions now so that action can be taken once the truth is uncovered through a parliamentary investigation or a special counsel probe," adding, "The election petitions were filed with the intent to follow the objection and appeal procedures based on the current Public Official Election Act."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.