South Korea’s parliament has launched a 45-day investigation into the National Election Commission (NEC) following widespread ballot paper shortages that disrupted voting during the June 3 local elections.
Lawmakers approved the parliamentary inquiry during a plenary session on Thursday amid growing public anger over the election-day fiasco, which triggered protests, prompted the resignation of the NEC chief and led to calls for accountability from President Lee Jae-myung.
The special parliamentary committee will investigate the NEC and regional election commissions over what lawmakers described as failures that potentially infringed on citizens’ voting rights and exposed weaknesses in the country’s election management system.
The panel will include representatives from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, the opposition People Power Party and several smaller parties. Lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun is expected to chair the investigation.
National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik said the probe should not be viewed as the final step, but rather the beginning of efforts to reform election management.
He stressed that the investigation must identify the causes of the failures and produce reforms capable of restoring public confidence in future elections.
Meanwhile, NEC Acting Secretary-General Kang Dong-wan reportedly met representatives of protesting university students on Wednesday and admitted the commission was deeply disappointed by its inadequate preparations.
Kang said the NEC would fully cooperate with the parliamentary investigation, a separate joint police-prosecution inquiry and its own internal audit.
According to election officials, ballot shortages were reported at 91 polling stations nationwide during the local elections. Voting was temporarily suspended at 26 of those locations while authorities worked to resolve the issue.
One of the most significant disruptions occurred in Seoul’s Songpa district, where voting at a polling station was halted for nearly an hour before resuming. The station eventually remained open until 10pm to allow waiting voters to cast their ballots.
Officials said approximately 175 people who had received waiting tickets were accommodated, although 12 voters never returned to vote.
The investigation is expected to focus on how the shortages occurred, whether election procedures were properly followed and what measures are needed to prevent similar incidents from affecting future elections.
