On the 4th, Kweon Seong-dong, a lawmaker of the People Power Party, proposed a revision to the official election law that aims to abolish the early voting system.
The bill includes reviving absentee voting, which was abolished with the introduction of early voting in 2014, and extending the main voting period from one day to three days. It also proposes changing the days when the main voting takes place from the current Wednesday to Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, including the weekend.
On that day, during a press conference at the National Assembly, Kweon noted, "Early voting was initially introduced in 2014 to increase voter turnout, but after 10 years, the effect on raising turnout remains uncertain." He continued, "Rather, it has become a symbol that represents the backwardness of our voting system, characterized by 'credit entry.' In particular, the management of early voting in the last general election cost a staggering 72.2 billion won, leading it to be called a tax-eating hippo."
Kweon added, "Moreover, with various institutional flaws combined with poor management by the Election Commission, public distrust has reached a level that can no longer be tolerated." He noted that although it has been revealed that there are serious issues with the Election Commission's improper hiring, last week's Constitutional Court decision made it impossible for the Board of Audit and Inspection to conduct an audit of the Election Commission, further increasing public anxiety about election management.
He continued, "Voting is the beginning and end of democracy, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is essential." He urged, "We must normalize the voting system to eliminate public distrust in election management and resolve the social conflicts that recur during elections, thereby eliminating social expenses."
Kweon also added, "This issue is not a matter of political factions nor a matter of advantages or disadvantages." He emphasized that it is about removing significant elements of social conflict and establishing a transparent and fair voting system to solidify the foundation of democracy.
Immediately after the press conference, Kweon responded to a question from reporters regarding whether this could give the impression that early voting supports electoral fraud, saying, "In the end, it comes down to whether there is mismanagement of the early voting system and whether there are points in the system that could raise suspicions."
Kweon noted, "In the case of absentee voting, which is still controversial, once the Election Commission puts the ballots in envelopes and delivers them to the post office, the management is entirely entrusted to the post office until they reach the Election Commission. During that process, no one can monitor what happens, and the Election Commission cannot intervene, and the voting observers have no knowledge of it."
He continued, "It is not a matter of whether or not there is fraud; the issue is that there are times and spaces that even the Election Commission does not know about." He emphasized, "I believe that eliminating early voting is the fundamental solution to complement the institutional loopholes and address the persistent public anxiety and concerns."
The People Power Party plans to hold a party meeting soon to determine its position on the bill proposed by Kweon to abolish the early voting system.
Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, met with reporters that morning and said, "There are many controversies regarding early voting, so we will discuss what to do about that, whether to conduct the main voting for two days or three days, and how to manage the gap between early and main voting periods." He added, "We will comprehensively gather opinions through the party meeting and establish the party's position."