Jo Si-hoon, former Secretary General of the Seoul Songpa-gu Election Commission, answers questions from lawmakers during the first hearing of the 'Special Committee on the Investigation of the 9th National Simultaneous Local Election Ballot Shortage and Other Infringements on People's Suffrage and Election Management Reform' held at the National Assembly on the 14th. [Yonhap News] 

On the 14th, the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach an agreement on the schedule for a public recount of ballots stored at the Jamsil Olympic Park during a meeting of the National Assembly's Special Committee on the Investigation of the 6.3 Local Election Ballot Shortage.

The Democratic Party of Korea called for an immediate recount, while the People Power Party insisted that a special prosecutor should be appointed first and that the recount should be conducted under the authority of that special prosecutor, resulting in an impasse.

Representative Yoon Sang-hyun of the People Power Party, the chairman of the special committee, stated at the meeting convened for the first hearing, "It is time to conclude the discussion on the public recount of the 2.47 million ballots located in the basement of the Songpa Handball Stadium to resolve public doubts," adding, "I believe that public trust will be built when the parliamentary investigation via public recount and the special prosecutor's investigation proceed simultaneously as two pillars."

He added, "A public recount is not a matter for calculating political advantage. Only a thorough verification open to the public can resolve these suspicions," and proposed, "I suggest that the ruling and opposition parties quickly agree on the verification method and schedule to disclose it to the public, and that the party secretaries work together to draft and adopt a resolution urging the swift processing of a special prosecutor bill."

In response, the opposition party argued that since the National Assembly's investigation period is coming to an end, the recount should be prioritized over the special prosecutor and pushed forward immediately.

Representative Yoon Kun-young of the Democratic Party, the opposition secretary of the committee, said, "The Democratic Party's official stance is to conduct an immediate recount," and asked, "The special prosecutor bill has not even been processed yet, and is it not a reality that it would take nearly a month for a special prosecutor to actually begin operations?"

Rep. Yoon added, "If we record the (recount) process and hand it over to the special prosecutor, it will serve as important material for the special prosecutor's investigation," and asked, "Is the suggestion to not conduct a recount before the August 1st deadline of the parliamentary investigation?"

Conversely, the People Power Party maintained that the appointment of a special prosecutor must precede the recount.

Representative Choi Bo-yoon argued that there should be sufficient time to discuss the procedures and methods of the recount, stating, "We have not yet decided where to move the ballot boxes after the recount is finished. If a special prosecutor is appointed, they can be transferred to the special prosecutor or a location designated by them."

Representative Joo Jin-woo of the same party said, "A recount could amount to verifying and tampering with evidence related to an investigation in advance," and added, "Once the special prosecutor is appointed, the ballot boxes become subjects of search and seizure for which the special prosecutor must verify integrity; if a recount is conducted, the procedures would be led by the National Election Commission (NEC) with its own staff."

As discussions on the recount remained deadlocked, special committee members from the opposition party insisted that the recount schedule should at least be swiftly resolved at the second hearing scheduled for the 22nd.

Rep. Yoon Kun-young of the Democratic Party stated, "To uncover public suspicions, it is right to resolve this today, but it is deeply regrettable that it could not be done due to the political situation," and Representative Lee Ki-heon of the same party added, "40 days have passed without the ballot boxes being retrieved, and the purpose of this committee is to resolve this situation. Realistically, this must proceed before the special prosecutor's investigation."

However, Representative Shin Dong-wook of the People Power Party countered, "What is more important than a recount is clarifying the facts through an opposition-led special investigation," adding, "It is difficult to understand why the Democratic Party is pushing for a recount based on its party platform. If there are many citizens who are not convinced of the reliability of a recount led by the NEC, it is highly likely that it will end up as nothing more than a 'show'."