Politics (Fewer Nameplates Than Votes in National Assembly Vote... People Power Party Claims "Fraud"...)

Fewer Nameplates Than Votes in National Assembly Vote… People Power Party Claims "Fraud", Ruling Party Claims "People Power Party Did It" (Comprehensive)

Discrepancy of 274 Attendees vs. 275 Votes in Fast-Track Vote for Democratization Merit Act

Following Strong Protest from People Power Party, Speaker Woo "Proceeds with Vote Counting, Stating No Impact on Result"… Controversy Over Invalid Votes for Public Whistleblower Protection Act

Floor Leader Song Eon-seok Attending Plenary Session (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Park Dong-ju = On Sept. 25, People Power Party Floor Leader Song Eon-seok is seen in conversation with lawmakers in the National Assembly plenary session hall in Yeouido, Seoul. 2025.9.25 pdj6635@yna.co.kr

A heated confrontation erupted between the ruling and opposition parties on the afternoon of the 25th during the National Assembly plenary session over the process of designating the Act on Honoring and Supporting Persons of Democratization Merit as a fast-track bill, led by the Democratic Party. A discrepancy arose between the number of attendees and the number of votes cast.

The People Power Party protested, calling it "fraudulent voting," while the Democratic Party maintained that it should be processed according to the National Assembly Act. Speaker Woo Won-sik, who is from the Democratic Party, proceeded with the vote count without re-voting, stating that it would not affect the outcome.

On this day, the National Assembly held a plenary session in the afternoon to vote by secret ballot on designating four bills for fast-track processing: amendments to the Public Whistleblower Protection Act, the Act on the Management of Public Institutions, the Statistics Act, and the Act on Honoring and Supporting Persons of Democratization Merit.

The secret ballot process involves each lawmaker first placing their nameplate into a nameplate box and then placing their ballot paper into the ballot box. Afterward, the number of nameplates and the number of ballots are verified.

However, during the vote on the Act on Honoring and Supporting Persons of Democratization Merit, the number of ballots counted was one more than the number of nameplates.

Upon Speaker Woo announcing, "The number of votes for the Act on Honoring and Supporting Persons of Democratization Merit was 275, which is one more than the number of nameplates (274)," People Power Party Floor Leader Song Eon-seok strongly protested, asking, "How can there be more votes than nameplates? This is why people talk about fraudulent elections."

In response, shouts such as "Didn't you guys put more in?" and "The People Power Party did it" erupted from the seats of the Democratic Party and the Jo Guk Innovation Party lawmakers, leading to a back-and-forth shouting match between the parties.

From the Democratic Party, voices were heard stating, "Should we re-vote every time a single sheet is misplaced?" (Lawmaker Kim Yong-man) and "No re-voting" (Lawmaker Heo Young).

The atmosphere further worsened as Speaker Woo proceeded with the vote count, quoting National Assembly Act regulations and stating, "The National Assembly Act stipulates that re-voting is not required if there is no issue with the voting outcome."

Regarding the one extra vote, Speaker Woo commented, "As Speaker of the National Assembly, I cannot know why there is one extra ballot. If I knew, it would be considered fraudulent voting," adding, "It's possible someone mistakenly gave out two ballots and they were both cast."

Despite this, due to the ongoing commotion on the floor, Speaker Woo eventually stated, "Please do not speak excessively," and called in the floor leaders of both parties for discussions.

After the vote count was completed, Speaker Woo announced that out of the total 275 votes, 182 were in favor (ye) and 93 were against (bu), declaring, "The discrepancy in the number of nameplates did not affect the voting outcome, and therefore, it has passed."

Serious Democratic Party Leadership (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Joo-seong = Democratic Party Floor Leader Kim Byung-ki and Deputy Floor Leaders Moon Jin-seok and Heo Young are seen in serious conversation prior to the opening of the plenary session to process the government organization reform bill at the National Assembly plenary session hall in Yeouido, Seoul on Sept. 25. 2025.9.25 utzza@yna.co.kr

The seats of the People Power Party continued to voice strong protests in response.

A fierce debate between the ruling and opposition parties also occurred on the floor regarding the vote count for the Public Whistleblower Protection Act.

For this bill, the vote resulted in 180 in favor (ye), 92 against (bu), and 2 invalid votes. The People Power Party argued that the two votes counted as "ye" should be treated as invalid votes.

During this process, statements such as "If it's done like this, they should all be invalid" (People Power Party Lawmaker Im Yi-ja) and "Let's leave it to ChatGPT" (Democratic Party Lawmaker Choi Min-hee) were made from the seats of both parties, leading to significant confusion.

In response, Speaker Woo declared, "As far as I can see, there is no way to treat these as invalid, so I will treat them as valid," which once again provoked opposition from the People Power Party.

According to the National Assembly Act, 179 votes, which is three-fifths of the total number of lawmakers, are required for fast-track designation. If the two "ye" votes were declared invalid, the fast-track designation for the Public Whistleblower Protection Act amendment would be rejected.

People Power Party lawmakers Lee Man-hee and Kwak Gyu-taek shouted towards the Speaker and the Democratic Party seats, asking, "Why are votes moving around?" and "Why are you yelling?" Democratic Party lawmakers Kim Sung-hoe and Jeon Yong-gi retorted with, "Come out and do it," and "Don't speak informally," continuing the verbal exchange.

Speaking to reporters, People Power Party Floor Leader Song Eon-seok stated, "If two votes were invalidated, it should have been rejected naturally," adding, "The Speaker committed an act of tyranny by using his authority to pass a bill that should have been rejected."

In contrast, Democratic Party Chief Spokesperson Park Soo-hyun informed reporters that "we understand that the Speaker handled it legally based on the National Assembly Act." Yonhap News