Prime Minister Kim Min-seok says, "If even the ballot boxes were destroyed, calls to dismantle the NEC are inevitable"

[Financial News]  Prime Minister Kim Min-seok delivered a sharp rebuke to the National Election Commission (NEC) over the shortage of ballots during the June 3 local elections. In particular, he pointed to the destruction of a ballot storage box that had gone missing from the No. 2 polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, and said, "If this is how things are going to be, wouldn't it be better to dismantle the NEC altogether?"

At the meeting on the 11th at Government Complex Sejong, Kim chaired the ministerial meeting on violations of citizens' voting rights. He said, "The fact that ballot boxes that should have been preserved as evidence have already been destroyed shows that the NEC still does not fully grasp the seriousness of the situation."
He added, "There is clearly a public demand that the NEC should be dismantled if it continues like this. The NEC must truly wake up, from top to bottom."

Kim also described the incident as "an unprecedented violation of citizens' voting rights in history."

He said, "As the issue of violations of citizens' voting rights during the June 3 local elections drags on, public concern is also growing." He added, "17 universities across the country have issued a joint statement on the current situation, and calls from all sectors for condemnation of the NEC and institutional reform are continuing."
He then said that a request for a National Assembly investigation into the NEC had been submitted to the full Senate session that day. He urged both ruling and opposition parties to set aside partisan interests, agree quickly on forming a Special Committee, and move forward with a thorough fact-finding process and discussions on institutional reform to strengthen democracy.
He also called for an active response from the government.

Kim said, "The government will also actively cooperate in every necessary area." He added, "I ask the Prosecution Service and the Police to conduct the investigation as quickly and strictly as possible, centered on the Joint Investigation Headquarters."

He also made clear that the government would take a hard line against some illegal acts that emerged in the wake of the voting-rights controversy.
Kim said, "Violations of voting rights are absolutely unacceptable, but violations of democratic order are also unacceptable." He asked, "By what authority can anyone block citizens' free movement and access, detain police officers, and hurl insults and slander at passing citizens?"
He continued, "Exploiting the public's legitimate demand to correct violations of voting rights in order to instead destroy democracy and democratic order is absolutely unacceptable." He stressed that "relevant ministries must hold those responsible accountable to the end under a zero-tolerance principle and prevent any recurrence."
The meeting was attended by Minister of Education Choi Kyo-jin, Vice Minister of the Interior and Safety Kim Min-jae, Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister Min Gi, and Chief of Government Operations Shim Jong-seop. Kim Jung-woo, Chief of the Government Situation Room, Minister of Justice Jeong Seong-ho, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young, Chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination Yoon Chang-ryeol, Chairperson of the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission Kim Jongcheol, and National Police Agency Deputy Commissioner Jaesung Yoo joined the meeting via video.

y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter