Jang Dong-hyeok of the People Power Party held a press conference at the National Assembly on the 7th and called for a full rerun of the June 3 local elections. Jang said, "Olympic Park has become a sacred place of democracy," adding, "I will meet President Lee Jae-myung in person to convey the voice of citizens and hear a responsible answer from the president."

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok calls for a rerun election during a press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 7th./Courtesy of News1

Jang said, "If the election has been seriously tainted, this is not the time to weigh partisan gains and losses. We are past the stage of choosing to do it in some places and not in others," adding, "When the public wants a rerun, this is not something to gloss over with a half-hearted parliamentary investigation or to sweep under the rug with a special counsel recommended by the ruling party."

Jang said the ballot shortage exposed serious flaws in the National Election Commission and the election system. He said, "There are 50 locations nationwide where the commission admitted ballots ran short, and that is likely just the tip of the iceberg," adding, "We don't even know how many people were deprived of their suffrage, and the mere fact that voting continued after the exit polls were released means the constitutional principle of free elections was broken."

Jang said, "Ballots must be transported a day earlier in the presence of police, but on voting day, ballots were moved in shopping bags without any oversight, and handwritten numbers were put on ballots without serial numbers, which eroded trust in the election."

Jang called for an immediate meeting with President Lee Jae-myung, saying, "If you set off on an overseas trip with all these problems left as they are, you will face even greater resistance."

Citizens protesting the 6·3 local election ballot shortage gather in front of the counting center at Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 6th and chant for a rerun election./Courtesy of News1

He also called for a full rerun, including in areas where People Power Party candidates won. Jang said, "The public does not acknowledge the fairness of this election," adding, "This is not something to discuss while excluding areas where the People Power Party won. The public's suffrage was infringed, so this is not about partisan gains and losses."

He added, "A parliamentary investigation or a special counsel is too remote for the public," saying, "Holding the rerun the public wants is what politics should do."

Jang also called for overhauling the election system. He said, "The public does not understand why early voting, which half the people reject, is being defended so strongly," adding, "This should not be dismissed as the claims of election-fraud believers; it should be nipped in the bud. Early voting should be abolished."

He went on, "There is also a way to abolish early voting and extend election day voting to three days," adding, "If the issue grows and the public outcry to change the election system rises, and we still do not change it together, we may never be able to change it."

Jang said, "Many people think President Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party, and the election commission are accomplices," adding, "The more you stall, the heavier the responsibility will become. Why does the Lee Jae-myung administration, which dismantled a functioning prosecution service, leave the election commission as it is?"

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