The People Power Party noted on the 6th that "fundamental reconsideration of the reform of the Election Commission is necessary," directly targeting the poor management of elections by the National Election Commission. There were also calls for the complete abolition of the early voting system as a means of institutional improvement.
Chairperson Kwon Young-se and more than 10 members of the People Power Party attended the forum titled "What is the Problem with the Election Management System?" held at the National Assembly. The forum was organized to supplement the system and create a fair and trusted election environment amid rising public distrust in the election system. The ruling party members present all stated, "We need to alleviate the public's doubts."
Chairperson Kwon pointed out, "The fairness of the Election Commission has been constantly questioned recently. It is perceived as a hotbed of various corruptions and scandals, and as a result, the public's view of the Election Commission is cold." He emphasized, "We cannot leave an Election Commission that has rotted to the core as it is. It is time to fundamentally reconsider the reform of the Election Commission."
The People Power Party is distancing itself from the 'fraud election theory' raised by its hardline supporters but is raising its voice over 'poor management.' In particular, the recent controversy surrounding the preferential hiring of children of high-ranking officials in the Election Commission has reignited calls for 'reform of the Election Commission.'
Yoon Jae-ok, a former floor leader, stated, "When questions are raised about the election management system, there has been a political burden as if it was a rejection of the election, leading the political realm to brush it off with a sentiment of 'How could this happen?' However, issues with the Election Commission can be a significant source of political conflict in our society and there are ample matters that could raise public doubts. We need to address election management issues. It is a duty to ensure the public does not harbor any suspicions."
Representative Cho Bae-sook, who hosted the forum, remarked, "They dismiss it as a conspiracy theory to shift the blame for the electoral defeat, ignoring the very act of raising doubts," and noted, "In an atmosphere where raising issues for enhancing election fairness can be classified as fraud or expand into political controversies, simply addressing this is a significant challenge."
There were also demands for the complete abolition of the early voting system. Representative Na Kyung-won, who attended the forum, said, "The voters who participate in early voting do not have a 13-day campaign period secured. At the very least, we must guarantee the campaign period stipulated by law," adding, "It would be good to adopt this as a party line and move forward together."
Choi Won-mok, a professor at Ewha Womans University who led the forum's presentation, pointed out that the amendments to the Public Official Election Act so far have mainly been made to lower the voting age and improve voting conveniences, while revisions to prevent electoral fraud have been passive.
He added, "The surest method of reform is to abolish the early voting system altogether," stating that "there has already been evidence of direct electoral fraud in early voting in over 20 countries, and it is becoming internationally recognized that the early voting system is a hotbed of electoral fraud."
He then suggested that if it is not possible to abolish the early voting system immediately due to practical issues, the use of QR codes on early voting ballots should be prohibited.
He stated, "This is not the time to argue about whether QR codes are safe or not. Public distrust in QR codes is severe, so it would be better to amend the Public Official Election Act to prohibit the use of QR codes."
He also stressed the need to establish a post-verification system. Professor Choi emphasized, "We need to introduce a post-verification system. The Supreme Court sets a high burden of proof, but how can an individual prove it?" He suggested that a few voting districts should be randomly selected to verify that the number of ballots matches, adding, "In our country, there is virtually no verification, and if someone raises a question, they are labeled as conspiracy theorists. We need to purify the system."
Additionally, he proposed various institutional improvement measures, including ▲prior application for early voting ▲verification of the Election Commission's election management program by independent organizations ▲switching to a simple counting method for ballot sorting ▲and strengthening legal accountability for moving and storing ballot boxes.