Jang Dong-hyuk on Rejection of Election Objection: 'NEC Logic is Self-Serving... We Have No Choice but to Sue'

People Power Party Leader Jang Dong-hyuk stated on the night of the 12th that the party has no choice but to file an election lawsuit, arguing that the National Election Commission (NEC) "must be held accountable" after it dismissed the party's objection regarding the Seoul mayoral election, citing issues such as the ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections. Forewarning a legal battle to contest the NEC's dismissal, he emphasized, "We have no choice but to have the independent counsel investigate properly. We have no choice but to proceed with an election lawsuit."

The National Election Commission decided on 261 complaints regarding the invalidation of elections or election victories, dismissing 112 and rejecting 149 for procedural reasons. Regarding the Seoul mayoral election objection, the NEC explained, "While the voting suspension due to ballot shortages at some polling stations is acknowledged as a violation of regulations, it cannot be considered to have affected the election results." Representative Jang criticized this, saying, "This is like saying cheating is fine as long as the rankings don't change. The objection was meant to determine whether the election results were affected, but the NEC's decision is a self-serving distortion and a non-sequitur."

Representative Jang's declaration of a legal battle is expected to lead to an official protest from the opposition party, triggering improvements to the election management system and a re-examination of voting procedures. Meanwhile, procedural rules remain that allow a complainant to file an election lawsuit in court within 10 days of receiving a dismissal or rejection notification.