Minjoo Protests to the Election Commission: "Fair Election Management Is a Constitutional Value"

Democratic Party Lawmakers Visit Kim Yong-bin, Secretary General of the Election Commission
Discuss Large-scale Weapon Entry and Eunpyeong-gu Early Voting Management Video
Kim Yong-bin: "Will Not Tolerate Mockery of Voting Acts"

Members of the Democratic Party's Election Manipulation and Fraud Judgment Headquarters visited the National Election Commission (NEC) to express their overall protest against the NEC's election management. Kim Yong-bin, Secretary General of the NEC, addressed some of the issues raised by the lawmakers regarding the prohibition of bringing green onions into polling stations, stating, "If necessary, even spring onions can be banned."

Four Democratic Party lawmakers (Jo Jung-sik, Park Ju-min, Kim Young-ho, Kim Young-bae) and Yoon Young-duk, leader of the Democratic United Alliance, visited the NEC in Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi Province, on the afternoon of the 8th, demanding that "the NEC promptly take action against the election manipulation and fraud by President Yoon Seok-yeol and senior government officials." Yoon Young-duk stated, "The NEC was established from a historical reflection that the so-called 3.15 fraudulent election, which robbed the people's sovereignty, must never be repeated," adding, "The NEC, which must protect the people's sovereignty, has a constitutional duty to manage elections fairly."

On the 8th, Cho Jung-sik, Secretary General of the Democratic Party of Korea, along with Democratic Party lawmakers and Yoon Young-deok, representative of the proportional satellite party Democratic United Alliance, visited the Gwacheon office of the Central Election Commission in Gyeonggi Province to protest against the ban on bringing large fans into polling stations.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The lawmakers raised concerns about the government's 'Livelihood Discussion Meetings' ongoing since January and President Yoon's visit to a Chungnam regional clan association on the 2nd, calling these 'election manipulation' and arguing that they interfere with fair election management. In response, Secretary General Kim said, "We will review the details carefully and provide our opinion."

During the visit, questions and answers were also exchanged regarding the 'ban on bringing green onions into polling stations' and the 'video of the Eunpyeong-gu NEC's management of early voting ballots.'

Lawmaker Jo Jung-sik criticized, "The NEC defined green onions at early voting sites as political expression materials and prohibited their entry," adding, "In our view, green onions are daily necessities, and the NEC's regulation of this is a sign of losing neutrality." Secretary General Kim Yong-bin responded, "It is not important whether the item is green onions or not; the basic policy is to restrict the possession of certain items used to express political tendencies. No one would say anything if someone bought green onions at the market and put them in their shopping basket."

Lawmaker Park Ju-min explained, "Yesterday (the 7th), a video of the Eunpyeong-gu NEC sealing out-of-district election ballots became a hot topic," adding, "It is a video of sealing out-of-district ballots delivered from various regions late at night, and although it is a video anyone can watch, some groups are exploiting it to rally their supporters." He then requested, "Although the NEC later stated that this was a normal election procedure, please respond more actively to prevent the controversy from spreading."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Secretary General Kim said, "We have currently requested YouTube to delete that video," and added, "I hope Lawmaker Park understands that we are responding actively this time." He continued, "There was a bill to revise the conditions for election interference crimes during the 21st National Assembly, but the lawmakers did not support it," and questioned, "Shouldn't we establish this legally?" Furthermore, he said, "I thought that allowing visibility of the ballot box situation during late-night hours would resolve suspicions, but I was very surprised that suspicions were raised about the nighttime work as well."