Four Local Election Commissions Recommend Dismissal of Election Appeals; Controversy Over 'Copy-Paste' Opinions

[Anchor]

It has been confirmed that the election commissions of four cities and provinces, including Gyeonggi-do, have submitted opinions to the National Election Commission (NEC) recommending the dismissal of election appeals filed regarding the gubernatorial elections. Critics suggest that these local commissions essentially followed guidelines issued by the NEC. Meanwhile, the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission, where three commissioners have tendered their resignations, did not submit an opinion.

Kim Kwan-jin reports exclusively.

[Reporter]

The election commissions of Gyeonggi-do, Incheon, Busan, and Daegu have submitted written opinions to the NEC requesting that election appeals concerning gubernatorial and metropolitan council proportional representation elections be dismissed.

Regarding the various issues surrounding the shortage of ballot papers, these commissions conveyed to the NEC that the actions were unavoidable or did not violate any laws or regulations.

However, despite being from different regions, the content of these opinions is remarkably similar. In particular, they share significant portions with the so-called reference material that the NEC emailed to local election commissions on June 30, which has sparked controversy for allegedly serving as a directive to dismiss the appeals.

Critics argue that the NEC has exerted influence over local election commissions, which are supposed to make independent judgments.

[Cheon Ha-ram / Reform Party Lawmaker: It is as if the judge is colluding with the defendant. The election commission has already caused public outrage with the ballot paper shortage, and now it continues to undermine the fairness of election administration.]

In contrast, the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission, where three commissioners resigned in protest against the NEC's reference material—viewing it as a de facto directive for dismissal—did not submit an opinion for either dismissal or approval.

The reason provided was that if they were to submit an opinion in one direction, it could raise questions about their independence and impartiality, especially since the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission must also adjudicate cases such as the Seoul district head elections, which share similar facts and issues with the Seoul mayoral election appeal.

(Video reporting: Kim Nam-sung | Video editing: Lee Sang-min | Design: Park Tae-yeon, Han Song-yeon | Data provided by: Office of Lawmaker Cheon Ha-ram)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.