Jung Jeom-sik, the floor leader of the People Power Party, emphasized on September 3 that reforming the Election Commission has become a "constitutional task that can no longer be delayed," calling for a comprehensive overhaul. He criticized the Democratic Party for allegedly exploiting the issue of the Election Commission for the purpose of extending terms.
During a party meeting held at the National Assembly, Jung stated, "We will boldly reform the Election Commission within the framework of the current Constitution."
Earlier, the People Power Party launched a special committee on June 23 to investigate violations of citizens' voting rights and discuss the "Citizens' Voting Rights Protection Bill" aimed at reforming the Election Commission.
Jung accused the Democratic Party of claiming that allowing the Board of Audit and Inspection to audit the Election Commission through a "one-point" constitutional amendment would resolve all issues, asserting that they are subtly misusing the Election Commission problem as a means to extend terms.
He also stated, "As long as President Lee Jae-myung's five trials are not resumed, discussions on constitutional amendments are impossible."
He particularly stressed that pushing for Election Commission reform is a party position. "All members of the People Power Party are united in their commitment to uncover the truth behind the infringement of citizens' voting rights and to take all possible institutional measures to prevent its recurrence," he said, adding, "I want to make it clear that this is our party's position."
However, the adoption of the party position on the Election Commission reform bill did not materialize that day. Choi Soo-jin, the party's chief spokesperson, told reporters after the meeting that they had planned to adopt the bill as a party position, but it did not happen, stating, "Discussions will continue as final arrangements have not yet been made."
She further explained that there are 81 legal provisions across various laws that need to be amended during the reform process, indicating that it is a comprehensive undertaking.
When asked if there were any criticisms regarding the bill's shortcomings during the meeting, she replied, "Yes, there were," and noted that they would continue to gather opinions through a group chat among lawmakers.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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