Leaders push election commission reform

On Monday, a meeting of the heads of the key branches of government was held at the presidential office, attended by President Lee Jae Myung, National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik, Chief Justice Jo Hee-de, Constitutional Court President Kim Sang-hwan and Prime Minister Kim Min-seok. With protests spreading over the ballot paper shortage that occurred in the June 3 local elections, it was timely for the president and the heads of these institutions of government to put their heads together. At a news conference marking the first anniversary of his inauguration Monday, President Lee said the incident was “a different issue from claims of election fraud” and admitted, “I, too, lacked sensitivity regarding the exercise of sovereignty.” We agree with President Lee’s recognition that this is not a matter of a few votes or the election result, but that the very fact that voters were unable to exercise their sovereignty is itself a serious problem.

 This meeting should be the starting point for reform of the National Election Commission (NEC). The NEC is an independent constitutional institution, but independence cannot serve as a shield for evading responsibility. It is necessary to thoroughly determine whether the ballot paper shortage was a working-level mistake or a structural failure in management. In particular, given the reality that incumbent judges serve part time as chairs of election commissions at each level, the Supreme Court also needs to consider how the election management structure should be changed.

 The government and the National Assembly must respect the NEC’s independent status while establishing checks and accountability measures that the public can accept. The Democratic Party submitted a request to the National Assembly Monday for a parliamentary investigation to uncover the truth behind the ballot paper shortage. It should also consult closely with the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) so that a meaningful parliamentary investigation can be carried out. In this matter, it would be desirable to broadly accept the opposition’s demands on such issues as the method of investigation and the selection of witnesses. Only then can the parliamentary investigation serve not as political strife but as an opportunity to restore trust in election management.

 The PPP, too, should approach this issue as a matter of reforming the NEC to prevent a recurrence of a situation in which the people’s voting rights are undermined, rather than mixing it with groundless conspiracy theories about election fraud. In that regard, we cannot help but express serious concern over PPP leader Jang Dong Hyeok’s call at a news conference Monday for a nationwide rerun election.