From left: Freedom and Innovation Spokesperson Yoon Tae-jun, Supreme Council Member Kim Jin-il, Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn, Supreme Council Member Yoon Sang-hyun, and Secretary-General Kang Ik-hyun. [Freedom and Innovation]Hwang Kyo-ahn, Chairman of the Freedom and Innovation Party (former Prime Minister), strongly criticized the on-site inspection conducted by the National Assembly Special Investigation Committee at the Olympic Park vote-counting center in Songpa-gu on the 2nd, warning that a recount led by National Election Commission (NEC) staff would "become a venue for the destruction of evidence." 

During the party's Supreme Council meeting on the 6th, Chairman Hwang criticized the matter, stating, "The NEC recently announced that a recount conducted by its own staff would cost 50 million won, which is absolutely unacceptable." 

Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn has consistently proposed a "live-broadcast recount." While he expressed principled support for the "public re-verification" recently proposed by Yoon Sang-hyun, chairman of the Special Investigation Committee, he firmly stated that he could never agree to a process led by the NEC. 

He pointed out, "Counting staff do not count the number of ballots from scratch; they only serve a supplementary role in re-counting ballots that have already passed through electronic counting machines. If you go to the actual scene, there are far too many cases where the counting staff simply pass them through without properly counting them." 

He lamented, "Too many people assume that the electronic counting machines have tallied everything accurately on their own," and expressed concern, saying, "The shocking fact is that while the NEC cites cost as an excuse on the surface, they appear to see this as an opportunity to destroy evidence. If that happens, it will not be a verification process at all, but a perfect venue for the destruction of evidence." 

He continued, "Therefore, the recount must be conducted by ordinary citizens who have been guarding the ballot boxes on-site through manual counting. It must be live-streamed, allowing not only broadcasting stations but also YouTubers to film. Observation must also be carried out by a sufficient number of ordinary citizens. As of now, this is the only way to prevent election fraud," he suggested. 

Chairman Hwang cited concerns over the tampering of evidence as the reason he initially opposed the Special Investigation Committee’s on-site inspection. He argued that it was contradictory for the committee to use state power to enter the site while Freedom and Innovation had already filed an application with the court to preserve evidence. He raised strong questions, asking, "When citizens blocked the entrance they originally intended to use, they fled to a side entrance. Is a government that mobilizes massive police forces to force open doors by sheer might, violently suppressing many citizens and even causing injuries, truly normal?" 

In particular, he noted that the committee members withdrew after merely accepting the NEC's excuses, saying, "It is incredibly frustrating to see committee members who still seem to listen to the NEC with such a receptive attitude. They treat the NEC as a normal state agency that follows common sense, but that is absolutely not the case. There is a reason I have been calling for the dismantling of the NEC." 

He added, "Ordinary citizens or committee members with legal backgrounds naturally think of solutions within the framework of the law, but 'they' are different. This fight is not easy because they act while ignoring and trampling upon the law, without even feeling a sense of guilt. The quality of the weapons used in this fight is completely different," while predicting, "Nevertheless, justice will ultimately prevail." 

Attending the Supreme Council meeting that day were Chairman Hwang, Secretary-General Kang Ik-hyun, Supreme Council Members Kim Jin-il and Yoon Sang-hyun, and Spokesperson Yoon Tae-jun.