[Anchor]

The special parliamentary committee tasked with uncovering the causes of the ballot shortage crisis has officially begun its operations. Wi Chul-hwan, Acting Chairperson of the National Election Commission (NEC), bowed his head, stating that he feels a grave sense of responsibility. However, lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties poured out criticism as many of the NEC members summoned as witnesses failed to attend the morning session.

Reporter Kim Bo-mi has the story.

[Reporter]

The special parliamentary committee, formed to investigate the causes of the ballot shortage and reform the election management system, kicked off its full-scale operations with a plenary session held this morning (June 23).

Before proceeding with the agenda, Chairperson Yoon Sang-hyun emphasized the gravity of the situation and declared that the committee would conduct a thorough investigation.

[Yoon Sang-hyun/Chairperson of the Special Committee on the Ballot Shortage Crisis: I would like to make a statement. The independence of the National Election Commission, guaranteed by the Constitution, is meant to ensure accountability to the people; it is by no means a license to infringe upon the right to vote and receive immunity.]

The ruling and opposition parties had previously selected approximately 40 current and former NEC officials as witnesses, including former NEC Chairperson Noh Tae-ak and nine other commission members.

However, lawmakers from both sides criticized the absence of key figures directly related to the incident, such as former Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission Chairperson Oh Min-seok and former Songpa-gu Election Commission Chairperson Min So-young, who failed to appear for the morning session.

[Shin Dong-wook/People Power Party lawmaker: Not a single person who should be providing key testimony regarding this incident has appeared. How can we proceed smoothly with the committee's work like this, Mr. Chairperson?]

[Kim Young-bae/Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker: These are people who should know better than anyone what this situation means for our constitutional order. Their failure to attend this session shows just how irresponsible their attitude is.]

In his institutional report, Acting Chairperson Wi Chul-hwan apologized to the public, stating that he feels a heavy sense of responsibility for the incident.

[Wi Chul-hwan/Acting Chairperson of the National Election Commission: I feel miserable and heartbroken that such an incident has occurred again due to inadequate preparation and response in election management.]

The special committee resolved to receive a second round of institutional reports from the NEC and local election commissions on July 1, conduct an on-site inspection on July 8, and hold two separate hearings.

(Video Editing: Jeon Min-gyu)