The National Election Commission has rejected all appeals from the People Power Party regarding the invalidation of elections for seven regional heads, including Seoul. Jang Dong-hyuk, the party's leader, stated that the matter will ultimately require a special investigation, indicating plans for legal action.
On August 13, the People Power Party reported that Jang expressed on his Facebook page the expectation that the Election Commission would dismiss the party's election appeals. He noted that the Commission claimed there were violations related to a shortage of ballots and interruptions during voting, but argued that these did not affect the election results.
Previously, the Election Commission dismissed appeals concerning elections for proportional representatives in the Seoul City Council, as well as the mayors of Incheon, Busan, Ulsan, and the governors of Gyeonggi Province, Chungcheongbuk-do, and the integrated mayor of Gwangju.
While the Commission acknowledged that there were violations regarding ballot shortages and voting interruptions in the Seoul mayoral election, it concluded that these did not impact the election results, leading to the dismissal of the appeal. Recently, the Commission also rejected appeals related to the Seoul mayoral election filed by general voters.
Election appeals are procedures for contesting the validity of elections based on issues related to election management. Once an appeal is submitted to the Election Commission, the Appeals Review Committee must make a decision within 60 days. If the appeal is dismissed, the appellant can file a lawsuit within 10 days of receiving the notification.
Jang emphasized, "Ultimately, we will have to pursue a special investigation and proceed with election litigation. The National Election Commission must be held accountable for its dismissal of our appeal." He reiterated plans for legal action, claiming that the Commission failed to properly assess the grounds for the election invalidation appeal.
He criticized the Commission's conclusion, stating, "They say there was cheating, but since the rankings didn't change, it's fine. No one knows whether the rankings changed or not. This appeal was about determining whether the election results were affected or not. Yet, the Commission arbitrarily concluded that it did not have an impact, which is a self-serving response."
Jang concluded, "We will not stop fighting until the truth is revealed and the people's votes are restored. We will continue to fight alongside the youth and citizens."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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