The chant "Re-election for fraudulent elections" echoed through Jamsil. ⒸHanmi Ilbo 

American political columnist Gene Cummings strongly criticized the June 3rd incident, stating, "If people's right to vote was obstructed and the election results were influenced, it is a grave national crime that shook the constitutional order of the Republic of Korea, and should be considered a matter of treason and abuse of power."

Cummings stated on Facebook on the 7th, "The suspicions of fraudulent elections unfolding in Korea right now are not just a simple mismanagement of elections, but evidence is emerging that it was carried out on a large scale and systematically. All the videos and testimonies citizens are capturing on-site are precious historical evidence protecting democracy in the Republic of Korea. Do not delete them, back them up thoroughly on cloud storage and external hard drives, and actively submit them for future parliamentary investigations, special prosecutor investigations, recall of national assembly members, and court lawsuits."

He also pointed out that the public must never back down against such illegal atrocities by the government, and the opposition party must thoroughly investigate the situation, appoint a special prosecutor, and reveal the truth behind this illegal election manipulation through a re-election, holding all responsible parties accountable to the end.

Most importantly, he firmly stated that Lee Jae-myung, the ultimate person responsible for the orders, must be held accountable.

The following is the full text of the column Gene Cummings posted on Facebook. 

Republic of Korea is Full of Illegality, Is it Trampling on the Sovereignty of the People!

What is happening in the Republic of Korea right now is not a simple case of 'election management inexperience.' What is particularly outrageous is Lee Jae-myung's double standard.

This is a person who normally demands excessive punishment for citizens who criticize him on X, saying they "must be severely and strongly punished," and even curses Starbucks at a level of profanity, yet for this unprecedented election manipulation incident that occurred within his own government, he merely uttered "regret" and spoke hesitantly, as if terrified, rather than forcefully.

Lee Jae-myung said yesterday, "It is reported that some areas in Seoul experienced confusion and inconvenience." This single sentence clearly reveals his attitude. The expression "it is reported" is an indirect speech that conveys that citizens experienced inconvenience, as if he were a third party, without admitting any fault himself.

In other words, the expression of admitting responsibility, "This happened because we made a mistake," is completely omitted, and it is a subtle expression that shifts responsibility to the citizens by saying, "That's what the citizens said." Furthermore, he reduced the essence of the situation to the extremely mild words of "confusion and inconvenience."

He dismissed the unprecedented situation of ballot paper shortages, hours-long queues, polling station blockades, deployment of thousands of police officers (suspected of being private security), and forceful suppression as mere "inconvenience." This is a very cunning political rhetoric aimed at avoiding responsibility, downplaying the situation, and ultimately blaming the citizens.

A proper president should have spoken with a responsible statement like this:

"Serious confusion and infringement of voting rights occurred in some areas of Seoul due to the lack of preparation by government agencies. I deeply apologize to the citizens. The government will conduct a thorough investigation to clearly determine what happened and will hold those involved accountable. If intent or gross negligence is confirmed, they will be severely punished."

Lee Jae-myung is a figure who, as usual, makes strong remarks about severely punishing citizens' critical comments regarding illegality. When such a grave and significant incident occurs in the nation, why does he show such a lukewarm attitude?

As president, he should have acknowledged the government's responsibility, sincerely apologized to the people first, and stated that such matters would be severely punished. However, Lee Jae-myung shifted the responsibility to others, saying, "It is reported that they experienced inconvenience in some areas," and "If there is anyone to be held responsible, they must be clearly held accountable."

Furthermore, although he stated on his social media today that he would "take all possible measures at the administrative level" and ordered a thorough investigation into the entire incident, he did not utter a single word about punishing those involved.

Ultimately, this appears to be a tactic to buy time with the excuse of investigating the truth, with no actual punishment intended. If this situation had occurred during a conservative government, the outcome would be predictable.

The Democratic Party, progressive civic groups, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, and the media would have already called for the president's impeachment and turned the entire Republic of Korea into a fiery battlefield. However, they are now consistently remaining silent to an unnerving degree. How wicked are these groups? This is their extreme double standard, their true nature, and a precursor to the dictatorship of Lee Jae-myung.

The Republic of Korea is becoming a land of illegality. If this is allowed to pass without a re-election, it will be a complete collapse of electoral fairness, and the Republic of Korea will descend into Chinese-style authoritarianism.

All the videos and testimonies citizens are capturing on-site are precious historical evidence protecting democracy in the Republic of Korea. Do not delete them, back them up thoroughly on cloud storage and external hard drives, and actively submit them for future parliamentary investigations, special prosecutor investigations, recall of national assembly members, and court lawsuits. The public must never back down against such illegal atrocities by the government. 

The opposition party must thoroughly investigate the situation, appoint a special prosecutor, and reveal the truth behind this illegal election manipulation through a re-election, holding all responsible parties accountable to the end. In particular, Lee Jae-myung, the ultimate person responsible for the orders, must be held accountable.

The Lee Jae-myung administration, especially the Democratic Party and the Election Commission, are currently trying to evade and escape this issue. The fact that ballot papers were insufficient at 67 polling stations is already strong evidence that the election was manipulated.

The Election Commission is making excuses, saying they printed fewer ballots because "in the past, due to high early voting rates, there were many ballots left over, causing unnecessary waste in processing." This statement essentially means that the Election Commission had already predicted the outcome before the election. In other words, predicting the outcome means that they had already decided on the desired result and intentionally adjusted the number of ballot papers accordingly.

This is not a simple management error, but a matter that can only be suspected of being a clear, intentional election manipulation. If a re-election is not held, it is tantamount to the government admitting that election manipulation occurred.

The Democratic Party and the Election Commission maintain the stance that a re-election is unnecessary, citing the fact that the voter turnout exceeded 60%. However, this is an argument that directly distorts the principles of democracy. The legitimacy of an election is not determined solely by the number of voters.

What is important is whether a fair and normal voting opportunity was guaranteed to all citizens who have the right to vote. If even a single citizen was unable to exercise their right to vote legitimately, the state must clearly explain the reason to the public, and if the issue is of a scale and nature that could have influenced the election results, the election must be held again.

Do not think that the government can cover up the infringement of citizens' voting rights by saying that the voter turnout exceeded the majority! An election is not a process justified simply because a majority voted; rather, it gains legitimacy only when the voting rights of all citizens are fairly guaranteed.

The freedom and sovereignty of the Republic of Korea belong to the people of the Republic of Korea. No one, and no regime, can trample on it, and the people must never tolerate it.

The citizens of the Republic of Korea have an obligation to pass on a better country to their children who will carry on the nation's future. No one can take away the sovereignty of the citizens of the Republic of Korea, and political power must never be allowed to undermine the sovereignty of the people.

The Lee Jae-myung administration likely expects the people to protest and then give up and go home. The Republic of Korea is currently facing a grave crisis and stands at a crossroads of national destiny. If the people retreat now, the Republic of Korea will be unable to hold fair elections in the future, and criminals not chosen by the people will seize political power and even change the constitution at will.

This moment is a fateful opportunity, difficult to come by again, for the citizens of the Republic of Korea to protect their country themselves. Failing to protect the election means handing over the country to a dictator. The suspicions of fraudulent elections that have occurred in Korea are not a simple mismanagement of elections. They have occurred on a large scale, and evidence is emerging that they were carried out systematically.

If people's right to vote was obstructed and the election results were influenced, it is a grave national crime that shook the constitutional order of the Republic of Korea, and should be considered a matter of treason and abuse of power. The people must never back down until a re-election is held for the future of the nation.