Former Election Commission Official Speaks Out: "The Real Core Issue" Behind Ballot Shortages [Subtitled News]

The aftermath of the ballot paper shortage during the June 3 local elections continues to intensify.

A former official who worked at the National Election Commission (NEC) from 2018 to 2022 has stepped forward to speak publicly.

[Interview: Jung Hae-chan, Secretary-General of the Namhae County Branch of the Korean Government Employees' Union / News Hunters: The on-site training for election management officials—who are from local governments—is unprofessional. They only receive about two hours of training twice. The material they need to learn is about 100 pages long. If you consider whether these local government officials, who lack professional expertise, could have responded properly in the field, it would actually be more surprising if an incident didn't occur.]

Public officials are also expressing strong anger.

They have harshly criticized the National Election Commission, arguing that the commission holds all the authority but shifts the responsibility onto others.

[Interview: Park Bok-hwan, Election Reform Task Force / News Hunters: I agree with the sentiment that we have become 'bullet sponges.' We are demanding that the NEC directly oversee and manage the elections and take full responsibility for the entire process. They should not delegate roles or outsource tasks to local government employees, but rather handle them directly.]

According to a survey conducted by Gallup Korea from June 9 to 11 among 1,002 adults aged 18 and older nationwide, 44% of respondents supported a full re-election due to the ballot shortage, while 48% opposed it.

By age group, 67% of those in their 20s and younger and 62% of those in their 30s supported a re-election. An expert explains why the demand for a re-election is particularly high among the 2030 generation.

[Interview: Shin Yul, Professor of Political Science and Diplomacy at Myongji University / News Hunters: The most important topic for the 2030 generation these days is that they will accept the results if the process is fair. To put it simply, do you know the difference between envy and a sense of deprivation? Envy is like, 'I could have reached that state if I had worked as hard as that person, but I didn't, and they did, so I envy them.' This acknowledges the process. A sense of deprivation is different. It's like, 'I also worked hard, so why am I like this while they are like that?' That is a sense of deprivation. Young people today can handle feelings of envy, but they cannot tolerate a sense of deprivation.]

The former NEC official identified a structural problem that has remained untouched for 30 years as the core of the current crisis.

[Interview: Jung Hae-chan, Secretary-General of the Namhae County Branch of the Korean Government Employees' Union / News Hunters: We have maintained a low-cost outsourcing system for too long. The Public Official Election Act was created in 1996, and it has been 30 years, but there have been almost no institutional changes since then, even though the environment has constantly changed. It would be accurate to say that it is an organization that has become obsolete because it failed to adapt to the changing environment.]

Experts share the common diagnosis that unless there is a major reform of the National Election Commission, it will be difficult to avoid similar chaos in future elections.

Reported by Lee Se-young | Video by Lee Da-in | Source: News Hunters | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.