People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok said regarding the "ballot shortage" that occurred at 50 polling stations nationwide, including in Seoul, during the June 3 local elections that a special counsel should come before a parliamentary probe, and a rerun should come before a special counsel.
Jang held a supreme council meeting on the morning of the 8th and said, "Voters are calling for a rerun," adding, "Even among Democratic Party lawmakers, some are already arguing that a rerun should be held." He then said, "A special counsel takes precedence over a parliamentary probe, and a rerun comes before a special counsel."
Referring to the Democratic Party's plan to submit a bill for a parliamentary probe, Jang cited the 2023 hiring favoritism scandal involving family members at the National Election Commission and argued, "It was Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party that moved to defend by claiming the People Power Party was demonizing the commission and shaking Chairperson Roh Tae-ak."
He added, "They blocked the Board of Audit and Inspection's audit and the police investigation, insisted only on a parliamentary probe, and in the end dragged out time without uncovering anything," criticizing it as "the reason it is hard to trust the Democratic Party's sincerity about a parliamentary probe now."
Jang also said, "If we are going to conduct a parliamentary probe, we need to do it properly," adding, "From the chairperson to the selection of witnesses, the People Power Party must take the lead." He emphasized, "Only then can we produce results that the public can accept."
On a special counsel, Jang said, "It should not be a Lee Jae-myung, order-made special counsel recommended by the Democratic Party or the Rebuilding Korea Party, but a proper special counsel recommended by the People Power Party," adding, "Given the way the Democratic Party has done things so far, this argument is sufficiently reasonable."
He added, "The Democratic Party, which has repeatedly demanded special counsels and ended up getting all the ones it wanted, will have no reason to refuse a special counsel this time," and said, "Since they have repeatedly said they would not interfere because the National Election Commission is an independent body, they have even less reason to refuse a special counsel."