National Assembly speaker calls for bipartisan ballot probe

National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik on Thursday urged a thorough investigation into the ballot shortage incident during the June 3 local elections, as both the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) moved to launch a parliamentary probe aimed at restoring public trust in the electoral system.

Some polling stations across Korea ran out of ballots for the local elections on June 3, leaving many voters unable to vote. Both parties, in response, submitted a request for a parliamentary investigation into the incident to the plenary session on Thursday.

"I hope this parliamentary investigation will accurately identify problems in the current election management system and develop measures to improve election management overall, ultimately establishing an election system that the public can trust,” Cho said during the plenary session at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul. “I urge floor leaders from each party to work together actively to uncover the truth and address any violations of the public's electoral rights."

The DP seeks to investigate whether any legal violations or negligence occurred in determining and reviewing the number of ballots to be printed, while the PPP wants the probe to focus on the causes and circumstances surrounding the ballot shortage incident.

The ballot shortage incident has led many voters to argue that their voting rights had been stolen and demand the elections be re-held.

Multiple districts across Seoul, including Songpa District in southern Seoul, ran out of ballots on Election Day. The Seoul mayoral race ended without vote counting being suspended, which saw PPP's Oh Se-hoon winning his fifth term against DP candidate Chong Won-o by about 1 percent.

Oh is one of just four PPP winners in the 16 mayoral and gubernatorial elections, as the DP swept the remaining 12 races. Oh has not voiced a move for re-elections unlike the PPP leadership.

“The Public Official Election Act expressly and strictly bars a full re-election unless a serious legal violation is found,” Oh said on Monday. “I expect the court to rule on that issue in the election lawsuits that are likely to follow."

PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok, however, said on Tuesday that the “fundamental way to resolve this voter disenfranchisement incident is to hold elections again.”

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]