President Lee Jae-myung called for a sweeping investigation into South Korea’s election watchdog, urging authorities to scrutinise a range of alleged irregularities beyond the ballot shortages that marred the June 3 local elections.
Lee told acting prosecutor-general Ku Ja-hyeon to investigate “indirect corruption-related issues and other outrageous problems that have come to light”, including alleged wasteful spending and unfair hiring practices within the National Election Commission (NEC).
“Whether it is those issues or other questionable practices in the commission’s internal operations that the public finds difficult to understand, all such matters should be fully investigated if warranted,” Lee said yesterday during a weekly Cabinet meeting.
“We will focus on uncovering the full truth of the matter,” Ku replied.
Lee further ordered authorities to increase the number of investigators assigned to the investigation team and expand the scope of the criminal investigation.
“In any case, there appear to have been aspects of the agency’s operations that were carried out without sufficient vigilance and in a lax manner,” Lee said.
“Any parts that may constitute criminal wrongdoing should be thoroughly investigated, the facts clearly established and those responsible held accountable.”
Lee reiterated that the NEC’s status as a constitutionally independent agency, which limits routine oversight and supervision, had allowed internal problems to accumulate and eventually led to the unprecedented ballot shortages.
According to the NEC’s fact-finding committee, the commission was allocated enough funding to print ballots for 110% of registered voters, yet printed only enough ballots to cover 50% of the electorate.
On the day of the local elections, 140 polling stations nationwide requested additional ballots amid anticipated shortages, with 91 ultimately using the supplemental supplies. Voting was temporarily halted at 26 polling stations due to a lack of ballots.
Speaking at the Cabinet meeting, Lee said, “We must swiftly come up with alternatives and establish countermeasures.”
“I understand that the National Assembly is also working on measures through discussions between the ruling and opposition parties, and we, too, have expectations and will cooperate,” Lee said.
“But first of all, we should do our utmost, starting now, to eliminate the various negative elements that exist within the organisation.” — The Korea Herald/ANN
