[Anchor]

The National Assembly’s special investigation committee, tasked with uncovering the truth behind the ballot paper shortage, is scheduled to conduct an on-site inspection at the Olympic Park counting center today, July 2. The committee plans to enter the counting center, which is currently blocked by protesters, to verify the ballot boxes stored inside.

We start with our first report from Kim Kwan-jin.

[Reporter]

Following yesterday's National Assembly hearing on the ballot shortage incident,

As the on-site inspection of the Olympic Park counting center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, and the Songpa-gu Election Commission is set for today, Democratic Party lawmakers argued that the police must secure an access route, as they are visiting to verify the site on behalf of the public.

[Yoon Kun-young / Democratic Party Lawmaker: The area around Olympic Park is surrounded by protesters, making the situation far from easy.]

On the other hand, the People Power Party opposed the move, expressing concerns that it could be perceived as the use of public force against protesters.

[Joo Jin-woo / People Power Party Lawmaker: Who will take responsibility for any physical clashes that may occur there?]

After much debate, the ruling and opposition parties agreed to send an official request for cooperation to the police and to increase the number of on-site inspections from one to two.

Conservative opposition lawmakers questioned the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, asking if they had been late in recognizing the severity of the situation, and raised the issue of government responsibility.

[Park Soo-min / People Power Party Lawmaker: Is a situation room that only finds out about things through media reports worthy of taxpayer money? What is the Minister of the Interior and Safety's response to this?]

[Yoon Ho-jung / Minister of the Interior and Safety: I am speaking strictly regarding constitutional authority.]

The pan-ruling bloc defended the government, stating that the Ministry of the Interior and Safety only provides support, and that the responsibility lies with the National Election Commission (NEC).

[Kim Young-bae / Democratic Party Lawmaker: Regardless of the reason, nothing should be done to undermine the fundamental independence and neutrality of the NEC.]

The National Election Commission announced a belated measure to print 100 percent of the required ballot papers, matching the number of voters, starting in the second half of this year.

[Kang Dong-wan / Acting Secretary-General of the National Election Commission: We will make 100 percent printing the principle, and any reduction or adjustment will require a resolution by the central NEC.]

The National Election Commission also stated that if the National Assembly's special investigation committee passes a resolution, it is willing to allow a public verification of the ballot boxes and ballot papers stored at the Songpa-gu counting center, involving the ruling and opposition parties as well as civic groups.