Just 5 Lines at the End of a Report: The Hasty Decision to Cut Ballot Printing to 50%

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One of the reasons for the shortage of ballots has been identified as the National Election Commission's (NEC) directive to reduce the ballot printing ratio to 50%. When we examined how this critical change was reported to the NEC leadership, we found that it was mentioned in just five lines at the end of a report, and the discussion lasted less than an hour.

Reporter Park Jae-yeon has the story.

[Reporter]

This is a 42-page document titled "Review of Amendments to Election Management Regulations," submitted by the National Election Commission to the National Assembly.

The document was reported as an agenda item during a meeting held on November 24 of last year, attended by then-NEC Chairperson Noh Tae-ak, Standing Commissioner Wi Chul-hwan, and Secretary-General Heo Chul-hoon.

On page 41 of the document, an agenda item titled "Reduction of Ballot Printing Ratio for Election Day" is specified.

It states that "the number of ballots issued on election day is on a continuous downward trend due to the rise in early voting," and includes a plan to reduce the ballot printing ratio for the June 3 local elections to "50% or more."

The document contains no mention of potential concerns or contingency plans if the ratio were lowered to 50%.

The meeting lasted 57 minutes, but the minutes only state that "the overall meeting agenda was reported," with no separate record of any discussion regarding this "50% reduction directive."

In the early hours of June 4, during an emergency NEC meeting, then-Chairperson Noh Tae-ak reprimanded staff, stating, "I do not believe it was a proper procedure for the decision on the lower limit for printing, which was expected to cause a serious situation, to be implemented without being discussed by the Central Committee."

During the National Assembly's parliamentary investigation yesterday (June 23), former Chairperson Noh testified that he did not clearly remember receiving the report.

[Noh Tae-ak / Former NEC Chairperson: I don't recall it, but I think a report of this brief nature might have been made as a final decision by the Secretary-General.]

Acting NEC Chairperson Wi Chul-hwan initially called demands from political circles for a re-election "truly irresponsible," but later retracted his statement and apologized following protests from the opposition party.

The National Assembly's special committee for the parliamentary investigation will summon 70 witnesses, including former Chairperson Noh Tae-ak, on July 1 for a second round of institutional reporting.

The Board of Audit and Inspection has decided to launch an audit into the NEC's finances.

(Video reporting: Oh Young-chun, Kim Yong-woo | Video editing: Wi Won-yang | Graphics: Kang Yoon-jung, Kim Ye-ji)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.