The Democratic Party of Korea said on the 26th that it will amend the Constitution to dismantle the National Election Commission. It also said it will change the commission's name and makeup. Since the shortage of ballot papers erupted in the June 3 local elections, debate has continued over whether the commission should remain.
Song Ki-heon, Director General of the Democratic Party's "task force for institutional reform to safeguard the people's suffrage," said at a meeting that day, "Through a constitutional amendment, we will dismantle the National Election Commission," adding, "We will also change the commission's name and how it is constituted." The commission has drawn criticism that its very structure—for example, having a former judge serve as a nonstanding Chairperson—can create gaps in election management.
On this, Song said, "Even before a constitutional amendment, we will strengthen accountability by making the commission Chairperson a standing position," and added, "We will also make Commissioners standing and expand the single standing Commissioner to three, so they can each handle election voting management, investigation and enforcement, and organizational administration, thereby making internal oversight function effectively."
Song also said, "We will push for a Board of Audit and Inspection audit of the commission to ensure transparency across the commission's fiscal operations." Earlier, when the commission's "nepotistic hiring" case occurred, it filed a competence dispute with the Constitutional Court, arguing that "as a constitutionally independent body, the commission cannot be audited by the Board of Audit and Inspection." At the time, the court also said, "The commission is not subject to the Board of Audit and Inspection's audits," but it ruled that the commission must undergo National Assembly audits of state affairs or investigations.
The Democratic Party also seeks to introduce confirmation hearings for the commission's secretary-general. Song said, "Instead of the nonstanding Chairperson, the person who has effectively directed and managed election administration is the secretary-general," adding, "As the secretary-general has been appointed without a separate process of public vetting, to prevent a recurrence, we need to introduce confirmation hearings to publicly verify expertise and ethics."