People Power Party Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik (left) and Democratic Party of Korea Floor Leader Han Byung-do shaking hands. [Photo=Yonhap News]

On July 21, 2026, People Power Party Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik announced that the party had reached a final agreement with the Democratic Party of Korea through a general meeting of lawmakers to launch a special counsel investigation into issues such as the ballot paper shortage that occurred during the June 3 local elections. 

In response, the National Alliance for the Struggle Against Election Fraud (NASAEF) intends to condemn this special counsel agreement together with the public, as it is a deceptive act that distorts the very essence of the "National Special Counsel" movement that began at Olympic Park through backroom collusion between the two parties.

As the NASAEF already publicized on July 4, the ballot paper shortage that occurred during the June 3 local elections was not merely an administrative error by staff at the National Election Commission (NEC) polling stations, but was judged to be a symptom of highly significant, systematic election fraud.

This shortage occurred uniformly across 91 polling stations nationwide where the majority of voters were conservative, and the fact that conservative candidates had historically shown an overwhelming advantage in those specific locations suggests the possibility of a pre-planned, systematic election fraud.

Furthermore, from the 21st General Election on April 15, 2020, to the 21st Presidential Election on June 3, 2025, the fact that candidates from the Democratic Party of Korea won landslide victories by consistently showing a specific percentage-based lead in early voting—regardless of the results of the Election Day voting—is an abnormal phenomenon that is statistically impossible.

Based on these facts, more than 60% of the public began to suspect election fraud. As a result, while the early voting turnout for the 2026 June 3 local elections was 23.5%—higher than the 20.6% seen in the 2022 local elections—it was significantly lower than the 34.7% seen in the immediately preceding 2025 presidential election.

For reference, the highest-ever early voting turnout was 36.9% in 2022, but this also declined in 2025. The decline in early voting turnout led to the expansion of fraudulent manipulation into Election Day voting. Consequently, the claim that there was a deliberate, systematic shortage of ballots on Election Day at the 91 conservative-leaning polling stations—where the scale of manipulation was relatively large—in order to artificially suppress and conceal the number of voters for conservative candidates, is gaining credibility.

In conclusion, the public has lost faith in early voting—a "blind election" where the unified voter registry is not disclosed and data remains solely on the NEC's main servers.

It is no wonder that the citizens gathered at Olympic Park, just two days after the June 3 Election Day, changed their slogan from a simple "Re-election" to "Election Fraud, Re-election" and "Election Day Voting, Hand Counting." In short, the free citizens gathered at "Ol-Gong" (Olympic Park) demand the cancellation of early voting, which is highly prone to fraud, and call for Election Day voting with immediate manual counting to ensure that computer systems cannot interfere with the process.

To achieve this, the public had fervently hoped that the People Power Party—the only opposition party in the establishment—would elevate the opposition-led special counsel (with two opposition-recommended members) into a "National Special Counsel" that encapsulates the wishes of the free citizens at Olympic Park. They hoped this would root out election fraud, expose the truth in detail, secure true voting rights, and restore the liberal democratic system.

However, the backroom special counsel agreement reached this time has completely dashed the public's expectations from the very title. The title is specified as the "Special Counsel Act on the NEC for Fact-Finding regarding Election Management Failures, such as the Ballot Paper Shortage," omitting the term "election fraud" entirely.

From the outset, they have framed election fraud as a "conspiracy theory" and have given the NEC a free pass by defining the ballot paper shortage as a mere administrative mismanagement. Furthermore, while calling it a "National Special Counsel," they stipulated that the People Power Party—the plaintiff accusing the election fraud—would recommend three members, while the ruling party—the object of the investigation, or the defendant—would also recommend three members.

This is nothing more than giving investigative power to the very party suspected of the theft. It is common sense that a special counsel is initiated by the opposition party on behalf of the people when the government and ruling party, which hold a monopoly on regular public power, commit wrongdoing or are entangled in conflicts of interest that prevent a proper investigation or prosecutorial role.

Is it normal for the People Power Party to readily accept and announce such a pseudo-proposal where the ruling party also gets to appoint investigative prosecutors, just to follow the current trend of abusing special counsels for political expediency?

What is this if not a deceptive act that ignores the will of the people and misappropriates the term "National Special Counsel"? We demand that the People Power Party clarify whether it is only an opposition party in name, or if it is merely a "second company" acting as a handmaiden to the Democratic Party of Korea.

We hereby declare, together with the public, that we condemn this collusive agreement and will never accept it.

◆ Representative Kim Byung-joon

Former Professor of Silver Industry, Kangnam University 

Former Standing Representative of the Association for School Matters 

Current Co-Standing Representative of the National Alliance for the Struggle Against Election Fraud (NASAEF)