The Democratic Party of Korea has begun efforts to reform the National Election Commission. Through the so-called "three reform bills," which include making the chair of the National Election Commission a full-time post, introducing an external secretary-general, and adding a National Assembly confirmation process, the party plans a sweeping overhaul of the commission's structure.
The Democratic Party's "task force (TF) for reforming the National Election Commission to safeguard citizens' suffrage" held a press conference at the National Assembly on the 9th and said it had introduced bills to amend the National Election Commission Act, the National Assembly Act, and the Personnel Hearing Act to reform the commission. Song Ki-heon, who leads the TF, said, "We have prepared the following legislative proposals to strengthen the protection of citizens' suffrage and the level of accountability in election management."
The "three reform bills" would convert the chair of the National Election Commission from a part-time to a full-time position and increase the number of standing commissioners from one to three. They would also appoint the secretary-general from outside and introduce a National Assembly confirmation process.
In addition, they include establishing an audit committee composed entirely of external members to create an independent audit system, and introducing within the audit committee an election management and evaluation committee to assess the overall process after elections and report the results to the National Assembly. Lawmaker Lee Jeong-heon said, "The NEC reform TF will gather broad opinions on the three NEC reform bills and, if necessary, consider additional legislation."
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party's NEC reform TF said it plans to gather opinions from experts and various sectors through forums and prepare even a constitutional amendment later. Lawmaker Park Sang-hyuk said, "It is self-evident that (the commission) must be reformed and that in the end we cannot avoid going through a constitutional amendment," adding, "Discussion is necessary."