Democratic Party to Pursue Parliamentary Inquiry into Ballot Shortage

The Democratic Party of Korea has announced it will pursue a parliamentary inquiry to address the ballot shortage issues that occurred during the main vote of the June 3 nationwide simultaneous local elections and parliamentary by-elections. This move is interpreted as an effort to re-establish fairness and credibility in the election process.

Han Byung-do, co-chair of the Democratic Party's joint election committee, told reporters on the 5th that the ballot shortage incident "cannot be overlooked" and expressed his intention to push for a parliamentary inquiry. He reaffirmed the party's stance to proceed with the inquiry despite the resignations of National Election Commission (NEC) Chairperson Roh Tae-hak and NEC Secretary-General Huh Cheol-hoon. Han Byung-do described the ballot shortage as "a shameful event for Korea's advanced democracy and the NEC's system."

The Democratic Party plans to review methods for pursuing the parliamentary inquiry in consultation with other parties, considering that the standing committee has not yet been formed. They believe that a parliamentary inquiry is sufficient to ascertain the facts, rather than pursuing a special prosecutor. Han emphasized the need to examine all problematic aspects within the Election Commission, hinting that a diagnosis of the National Election Commission's overall system and operational processes will be conducted.