President Lee Jae-myung asked the National Assembly to "swiftly pursue a parliamentary investigation" as controversy spread over a ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections. At the same time, he called for discussions on fundamental reforms to the National Election Commission.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Saturday, Lee said, "The election commission caused enormous disruption to citizens' exercise of their right to vote during the June 3 local elections." He added, "The incident itself is hard to understand, but the subsequent response and explanation to the public were also insufficient," and pointed out that "this situation is a serious matter that has undermined the foundation of popular sovereignty."
Addressing the National Assembly, Lee said, "I hope you will swiftly pursue a parliamentary investigation to clearly establish the facts of this matter and prepare measures to prevent recurrence." He added, "I also request that you discuss fundamental measures to reform the election commission." Earlier, on the day after the local elections, Lee had said he expressed "great regret that hard-to-understand flaws occurred in election management, which must be more thorough than anything else in a democratic republic." Prime Minister Kim Min-seok also said, "This situation is an infringement of the right to participate in politics and a challenge to the fundamentals of democracy," pointing out that "all those in senior positions at the election commission above a certain level should step down."
The opposition officially proposed a re-election. Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the People Power Party, said on Facebook that day, "A 're-election' has already become an issue that can no longer be avoided," adding, "This is not only a Seoul problem. Just by the election commission's own admission, there are 50 polling stations." He then held an emergency press conference and called for a full re-election, saying, "I believe there can be no other view that the problem of a seriously contaminated election must be resolved, whether one is an election winner or a loser." At the same time, he demanded a meeting with President Lee, along with a parliamentary investigation and the introduction of a special counsel for the election commission.
Voices raising the need for a re-election also emerged within the Democratic Party of Korea, which had initially drawn a line by calling the re-election argument "not worth a moment's consideration." Rep. Park Sun-won of the Democratic Party said, "Areas where the ballots became a problem should hold a re-election," adding, "The National Election Commission, which supplied insufficient ballots even though it could anticipate how many more ballots would be needed after early voting, must guarantee a re-election." Rep. Choi Min-hee also said, "Leader Jang's argument for a full re-election is unreasonable," but added, "Let's hold a re-election only in areas where the ballots became a problem."
In response to the shifting internal mood, the party leadership also expressed a more cautious stance. Han Byung-do, floor leader of the Democratic Party, said, "I understand a lot of such talk is coming out," but added, "Since the People Power Party says it will file a lawsuit, we will watch the court's decision in accordance with law and principle."
