The second hearing of the Special Committee on the Investigation of the Infringement of People's Voting Rights, including the ballot shortage incident during the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections, and Reform of Election Management, is being held at the National Assembly on the 22nd. [Yonhap News]

The National Assembly’s "Special Committee on the Investigation of the Infringement of People's Voting Rights, including the ballot shortage incident during the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections, and Reform of Election Management" effectively concluded its activities on the 22nd.

This comes 49 days after the ballot shortage incident during the local elections occurred, and 34 days after the special committee held its first meeting to launch full-scale operations.

The special committee held its final plenary session on this day, conducting a second hearing with the National Election Commission (NEC) and other relevant agencies.

The committee originally intended to finalize the adoption of a results report and the filing of charges against witnesses who failed to appear or committed perjury. However, this did not happen as the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach an agreement on the timing of a recount and the extension of the committee's mandate.

Launched on the 18th of last month, the special committee held two briefings and two hearings during its month-long operation, identifying failures in the NEC's election management, lax internal discipline, and structural disarray within the organization.

In particular, the committee conducted an on-site investigation of the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium, which had been inaccessible due to a "blockade protest at the Jamsil counting station." This allowed them to inspect 2.47 million ballots stored at the counting site for the first time since the incident and highlight poor election management practices, such as inadequate CCTV coverage.

However, as the ruling and opposition parties failed to bridge their differences until the very end, criticism is inevitable that the committee failed to reach a conclusion regarding the circumstances of the ballot shortage incident or specific reform measures for the NEC.

Witness oath at the 2nd hearing of the NEC Special Committee. [Yonhap News]

Although the committee's official term runs until the 1st of next month, this second hearing was its final scheduled activity.

With the special committee effectively ending its activities, the task of uncovering the remaining allegations is expected to shift to a "special counsel investigation into the NEC."

Previously, the ruling and opposition parties agreed the day before to process a "bill on the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the mismanagement of election affairs, including the 9th local election ballot shortage," during the July extraordinary session of the National Assembly.

However, since the agreement is limited to the recommendation method and procedures for selecting the special prosecutor, political tug-of-war over the scope and targets of the investigation is expected to continue until the special counsel's office is launched.

Some suggest that the activities of the special committee could be extended depending on the negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties regarding the launch of the special counsel.

This implies that a supplementary session of the special committee could be discussed to bridge the gap before the special counsel begins its work.

Representative Yoon Kun-young of the Democratic Party, the opposition secretary of the committee, stated, "Neither the Democratic Party nor I personally have any objection to extending the special committee's term," adding, "We should pursue both the recount and the extension of the parliamentary investigation."

Yoon Sang-hyun of the People Power Party, who chairs the special committee, wrote on Facebook after the meeting, "Sincere opinions were exchanged regarding the recount issue and the extension of the special committee's activity period. Although there is not much time left, I will do my utmost until the end to fulfill the duties entrusted to us by the people."

A committee official told Yonhap News, "It seems all discussions that could be held at the committee level have been completed," adding, "Discussions regarding the extension of the term and the timing of the recount will likely be held by the floor leadership of both parties."

Kang Dong-wan, Acting Secretary-General of the National Election Commission, answering questions from lawmakers. [Yonhap News]