Ruling and opposition parties rebuke election commission over ballot shortage ... “Recount must be expedited” [2026 parliamentary audit]

[Financial News] The ruling and opposition parties sharply criticized the National Election Commission at a parliamentary audit on the 7th over the ballot shortage during the June 3 nationwide local elections and the NEC’s response afterward. Criticism continued that verification of ballots stored at Olympic Park had not been conducted for an extended period and that progress in addressing problems with ballot printing and the submission of materials had been slow.
At the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee audit of the NEC that day, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Yoon Kun-young raised the issue of ballots stored at Olympic Park, saying, “Today marks the 124th day since Olympic Park became a lawless zone,” and demanding, “What has the NEC been doing all this time?”
He said, “If losses of several tens of billions of won are being incurred, shouldn’t someone be able to propose a recount?” He added, “They should take action. Why are they just sitting back and watching?”
Kang Dong-wan, acting secretary-general of the NEC, replied, “We will work with the special counsel to ensure the ballots can be verified as soon as possible.” He also explained that the special counsel had requested that the ballots stored at Olympic Park’s Handball Gymnasium be preserved on site.
The opposition also raised concerns about the NEC’s poor management of the election. People Power Party lawmaker Park Sang-ung said, “The massive chaos related to the NEC’s operations during the June 3 local elections turned South Korean democracy into a laughingstock around the world,” adding, “They must not try to paper this over by saying they are ashamed or promising to work tirelessly.” He then pressed the NEC on what measures it had prepared to prevent a recurrence.
The controversy over President Lee Jae-myung’s ballot being exposed during early voting also came up again. People Power Party lawmaker Kang Myung-gu referred to footage of the president leaving the voting booth carrying his ballot during early voting on May 29, and asked, “Did the NEC let him off because he is the president?”
Acting Secretary-General Kang said, “That is not the case,” adding, “Based on the three types of footage recorded at the time, the NEC’s commission did not consider the ballot to have been exposed.”
Citing cases in which ballots exposed by ordinary voters had been invalidated, Kang raised the issue of fairness, saying, “Why is President Lee allowed to do it, but the public isn’t? Inside a polling station, the president’s vote counts as one vote, and the people’s vote counts as one vote too.” 


[email protected] Lee Bo-mi Reporter