Bipartisan 'NEC Special Counsel Act' Passes National Assembly, Up to 170-Day Investigation

A special counsel bill aimed at investigating the shortage of ballots during the June 3 local elections has passed the National Assembly.

During a plenary session held on the afternoon of today (the 30th), the National Assembly passed the bill on the appointment of a special counsel to investigate allegations of infringement on citizens' voting rights, including the shortage of ballots in the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections—commonly referred to as the "NEC Special Counsel Act"—through a bipartisan agreement.

Out of 228 lawmakers present, 226 voted in favor.

Two lawmakers, Lee Joo-young and Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party, cast dissenting votes.

The special counsel act was formulated to uncover the truth behind allegations of poor election management, including the shortage of ballots that occurred during the June 3 local elections.

The special counsel will be appointed through a public recommendation committee.

The public recommendation committee will receive three candidates each from the Korean Bar Association and the Korean Law Professors Association.

Among them, two candidates will be recommended to the President through a bipartisan agreement.

The President will appoint one of the two recommended candidates as the special counsel.

The special counsel's investigation targets 12 issues, including allegations of voting rights infringement due to ballot shortages and suspicions of forcing the ballot-counting process.

Also included in the investigation are allegations of procedural violations during the process of reducing the lower limit criteria for ballot printing quantities, as well as suspicions of tampering with election statistics.

The probe will additionally look into overall institutional corruption, such as overseas junket trips, preferential promotions for children, illegal hiring, and preferential private contracts involving current and former National Election Commission (NEC) commissioners, officials, and related personnel.

Allegations regarding lax management, security, and operation of the election management system will also be investigated.

Complaints and accusations filed against the NEC and its officials regarding the June 3 local elections, received up until yesterday (the 29th), are also subject to investigation.

The special counsel team may also investigate related cases newly uncovered during the course of the investigation.

The special counsel team will be comprised of approximately 165 members, including 5 assistant special counsels, 70 special investigators, and up to 20 dispatched prosecutors.

Dispatched public officials, excluding dispatched prosecutors, will be capped at 70.

The special counsel's investigation period will last a maximum of 170 days, including the preparation period.

The special counsel will undergo a preparation period of up to 20 days following appointment and conduct investigations for 90 days.

The investigation period may be extended by 30 days twice if deemed necessary.

On the 21st, the ruling and opposition parties agreed to process the NEC Special Counsel Act during the July extraordinary session of the National Assembly.

Since then, they have negotiated details such as the scope of the special counsel's investigation and the size of the investigation team.

The floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties finalized the details of the bill in the afternoon.

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly successively held a subcommittee and a plenary meeting to pass the special counsel bill.

The National Assembly also passed a motion to extend the activity period of the National Assembly's Special Committee on the Parliamentary Investigation into the NEC by 30 days during the plenary session.

Consequently, the special investigation committee, which was originally scheduled to wrap up its activities tomorrow (the 31st), will now be able to continue operating until the end of August.

During this period, the special committee plans to discuss the issue of recounting the ballot boxes located at the Seoul Olympic Park polling station.

Meanwhile, during the plenary session, three-term lawmaker Kim Jung-jae of the People Power Party was elected as the Chairperson of the Gender Equality and Family Committee.

With the election of Representative Kim, the formation of the leadership structure for the second half of the 22nd National Assembly has been completed.

Representative Kim stated, "Issues of gender equality and family transcend political factions and serve as indicators of a nation's dignity."

She added, "I believe that ruling and opposition lawmakers can unite with one heart and mind to work together."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.