Han Dong-hoon Addresses Assembly Session Electing Parliamentary Leadership

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon has announced his intention to propose a revision to the Board of Audit and Inspection Act targeting the National Election Commission (NEC), which oversees election management. The proposed revision would mandate external audits of the NEC. In a Facebook post on the 7th, Han stated his plan to introduce an amendment to Article 24 of the Board of Audit and Inspection Act, adding provisions for the statutory inspection of the duties of the NEC and subordinate election management committees. He explained that the amendment would include an exception clause for reporting inspection results, intended to control the NEC through audits by the Board of Audit and Inspection while simultaneously blocking any potential presidential interference with the commission.

He criticized the NEC, stating it has been operated as a sacred cow immune from external audits, which has fueled its incompetence and arrogance. He also denounced the Constitutional Court's 2023 decision deeming the Board of Audit and Inspection's duty inspection following an illegal hiring scandal as an infringement of authority, calling it an incorrect ruling. The shortage of ballots originating from the NEC, he argued, was an act that abandoned even the minimum expectation of fairness.

Han warned that if the NEC attempts to file an administrative dispute over the proposed Board of Audit and Inspection Act revision he will introduce, it will be dismantled by the public. He emphasized that election management should not be conducted with 'maximum fairness' but with '100% fairness.'

Having won the June 3 by-election for the North Gangseo A constituency in Busan and entered the National Assembly, he took his oath and delivered congratulatory remarks at the plenary session on the 5th to elect the leadership for the latter half of the 22nd National Assembly.