Ex-NEC chief claims ignorance at parliamentary inquiry into ballot shortages

Kang Chan-ho

The author is an editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo. 

During the parliamentary investigation into the ballot shortages in the June 3 local elections, former National Election Commission (NEC) Chair Roh Tae-ak repeatedly claimed ignorance about the incident. There is a clear reason for a former head of an institution with 3,000 employees and a 480 billion won ($311.4 million) budget to give such an irresponsible response. The chair, who concurrently serves as a Supreme Court justice and attends monthly meetings while collecting millions of won in allowances, is merely a figurehead.

According to a former senior official, the secretary general approves 95 percent of the agency's work. Only a few issues reach the chair. The approval power of standing members is as meager as that of nonpermanent members, and even the 5 percent held by the chair involves formally signing drafts prepared by the secretariat. Using the chair as a shield, the secretariat has avoided proper audits, managed personnel at will and maintained their stable position.

However, Roh consistently took expensive overseas business trips funded by taxpayers. In 2023, when the JoongAng Ilbo exposed allegations that high-ranking NEC officials' children were given preferential treatment in the organization's hiring process, Roh faced demands to resign. He kept his position by promising to implement reforms and accepting an audit.

Then-NEC Standing Commissioner Kim Phil-gon decided not to take overseas trips during the crisis, and then-NEC Secretary General Kim Yong-bin did the same. Roh, however, went on trips with his wife to Australia in 2022, Germany in 2024 and Sweden in 2025. A former NEC official noted that spousal travel is considered a custom for top state officials, but Roh should have refrained.

Under this leadership, the NEC secretariat has regularly colluded with political circles. Another former high-ranking NEC official said that under the pretext of parliamentary response, the NEC maintains an office in the National Assembly and exhausts its resources by handling petitions from lawmakers. When a lawmaker inquires about election laws, the NEC responds immediately, unlike during the ballot shortage crisis.

Furthermore, because the most powerful units are in the legislative bureau, NEC employees queue up to work at the central headquarters in Gwacheon. Once there, they stay for seven to 10 years to secure promotions, increasing the likelihood of collusion with specific political parties — especially since they network with lawmakers' staff over drinks. Conversely, frontline local election commissions comprise personnel who were sidelined due to low scores. The official lamented that the watchdog has become a servant to political circles.

According to another former senior official, the staff's understanding of election law falls short. The official noted that questions and answers on promotion exams were flawed, and that staff members admitted that they simply memorized the answers, regardless of their understanding. This explains bizarre interpretations of the law, such as how the Rebuilding Korea Party is permitted while another minor party is completely banned. In a system through which employees who excel at lobbying rather than election management are promoted, such a phenomenon is natural.

Furthermore, the NEC has covered overseas trips by political party officials under the guise of improving operations. In 2022, 17 people spent 100 million won on a trip to Australia. In 2023, 14 individuals traveled to Europe for 89 million won. A former lawmaker criticized the program as a junket used to gain political favor. Although the budget was eliminated after the 2023 audit, it was resurrected this year, with 80 million won allocated.

A parliamentary investigation without investigative powers cannot uncover deep-seated corruption. The only way to thoroughly uncover the truth is through an independent counsel appointed by the opposition, which the ruling party must also fully support.