[Anchor]

The Democratic Party has decided to push for the introduction of a special counsel to investigate the National Election Commission (NEC) regarding the recent ballot shortage incident as its official party platform. While the People Power Party expressed its willingness to accept a special counsel, it insisted that the appointee must be someone recommended by the opposition party.

Report by Park Jae-yeon.

[Reporter]

The Democratic Party decided today, June 29, during a general meeting of lawmakers to pursue the introduction of a special counsel to investigate the situation at the National Election Commission as a party platform.

The party argues that a special counsel investigation is necessary to uncover the truth behind issues such as the ballot shortage, separate from the parliamentary investigation.

[Han Byung-do / Acting Leader and Floor Leader of the Democratic Party: Institutional improvements alone do not erase the responsibility for this incident. An independent special counsel investigation is necessary to uncover potential dereliction of duty, false reporting, and attempts to evade responsibility.]

The party's leadership has decided to discuss the specific details of the special counsel, such as its scale and the authority to recommend candidates, at a later date.

The People Power Party welcomed the Democratic Party's move to accept a special counsel but demanded that an individual recommended by the opposition party be appointed to ensure an investigation without sanctuary.

[Jung Jeom-sik / Floor Leader of the People Power Party: We will not lower our guard until the very end to ensure this is a proper special counsel. We will do our utmost to ensure the appointment of a special counsel recommended by the opposition party.]

In response, the Democratic Party's floor leadership reacted by saying, "It is something that can be discussed, but it is a difficult issue to accept."

The ruling and opposition parties also remain divided over constitutional amendments for NEC reform.

The Democratic Party's Task Force on Election System Reform announced that it would push for constitutional amendments to change the name of the NEC and allow the Board of Audit and Inspection to audit the commission. The party plans to discuss specific constitutional amendment proposals through expert forums next month.

However, People Power Party Representative Jang Dong-hyuk opposed the move during a party leadership meeting today, asking, "Isn't the constitutional amendment ultimately for the consecutive term of President Lee Jae-myung?"

The day after tomorrow, the parliamentary special committee on the investigation will summon 70 witnesses, including former NEC Chairperson Noh Tae-ak, to receive a second round of institutional reports.

(Video reporting: Oh Young-chun, Kim Yong-woo | Video editing: Won Hyung-hee)