NEC Special Counsel Looming, But Reform Sidelined Amid Ruling-Opposition Rivalry

[Anchor]

A special counsel investigation into allegations of corruption and misconduct at the National Election Commission (NEC) is set to launch soon. What remains is reforming the NEC. However, while the ruling and opposition parties continue to lock horns driven by partisan interests, discussions on NEC reform are being pushed to the back burner.

Here is a report by Son Hyeong-an.

[Reporter]

On the 14th, the National Recommendation Committee recommended two lawyers with prosecutorial backgrounds, Lee Tae-han and Lee Hyuk, to President Lee Jae-myung as candidates for the special counsel to uncover the truth behind suspected infringements on voting rights, including the ballot paper shortage incident.

Under the special counsel act, President Lee is required to appoint one of them as the special counsel by tomorrow. Consequently, the special counsel investigating the NEC over issues such as the ballot shortage and alleged voter turnout manipulation is expected to begin full-scale operations early next month following a preparation period.

Regarding the issue of re-elections, the Central Election Commission dismissed and rejected 261 election appeals concerning races such as the Seoul mayoral election on the 12th. As the People Power Party has announced it will file lawsuits in response, the final judgment now rests with the courts.

NEC reform is entirely the responsibility of the National Assembly. Yet, since its launch in June, the parliamentary special committee on state investigation has failed to even present a broad framework for institutional improvement, remaining at an impasse over the issue of recounting ballot papers at the Olympic Park gymnasium in Seoul.

[Voice / Yoon Gun-young / Democratic Party lawmaker (on the 10th): We need to quickly verify what needs to be verified, uncover what needs to be uncovered, and fix what is wrong. I really do not understand why this is being politically exploited as if for entertainment.]

[Voice / Joo Jin-woo / People Power Party lawmaker (on the 10th): The issue arises whether we can actually handle this like an investigative agency, rigorously preventing compromised integrity or evidence contamination when we have to disturb and take out all the ballot boxes.]

As recently as June, voices called for dismantlement-level reforms—such as introducing a full-time chairperson system for the NEC and strengthening external monitoring and checks—to improve the broken election management system. Now, however, those measures have been sidelined.

More than 20 amendments to the National Election Commission Act have been proposed since the June 3 local elections, yet they have not even been subjected to serious discussion.

(Photo: Yonhap News / Video by Lee Seung-hwan and Shin Dong-hwan, Video Editing by Yu Mi-ra, Design by Jeon Yu-geun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.