Joo Jin-woo (center), Park Choong-kwon (left), and Choi Soo-jin, lawmakers of the People Power Party, hold a press conference on the bill for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the truth behind alleged election irregularities and violations of citizens' right to participate in the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections on June 9. In the afternoon of the same day, the People Power Party submitted the 'Election Commission Comprehensive Special Prosecutor Bill' to the National Assembly's legislative affairs division. [Yonhap News]

The People Power Party submitted a bill for a special prosecutor to the National Assembly on June 9 regarding the shortage of ballots in the June 3 local elections.

Following the submission of a request for a parliamentary inquiry as a party resolution the previous day, the party's move to propose a special prosecutor bill appears to be an effort to increase political pressure on the Democratic Party, which has been relatively lukewarm towards a special prosecutor compared to a parliamentary inquiry, and to secure leadership of political affairs.

The People Power Party submitted the 'Special Prosecutor Act on Investigating the Truth of Election Irregularities and Allegations of Violations of Citizens' Right to Participate in the 9th Local Elections' under the names of all 110 of its lawmakers.

The scope of investigation includes: ▲ allegations of election irregularities related to the ballot shortage in the June 3 local elections; ▲ allegations of proceeding with vote counting without immediately preserving ballot boxes and ballots; ▲ allegations of excessive use of public power against citizens who requested the preservation of ballot boxes and ballots, and allegations of illegal removal of ballot boxes; and ▲ allegations of deviation from the transport route and tampering with seals during the process of storing, removing, transporting, and opening ballot boxes.

The special prosecutor is to be appointed through a process where the ruling party recommends two candidates, and the president selects one of them.

The total size of the special prosecution team is to be 251 people, and the investigation period is to be a maximum of 170 days.

Rep. Joo Jin-woo, chairman of the People Power Party's Legal Advisory Committee, said at a press conference at the National Assembly on the same day, "We have designed it so that other elections can be investigated if specific clues are additionally discovered beyond the June 3 local elections. Because the investigation must be independent of power, the Democratic Party's right to recommend a special prosecutor has been excluded."

Regarding the necessity of a special prosecutor, he countered, "Acting Election Commission Chairman Wi Cheol-hwan is a peer of President Lee Jae-myung from the Judicial Research and Training Institute. Can the public trust any fact-finding committee if it were to be conducted internally?"

He added, "The ballot boxes currently at the Jamsil Olympic Park are also subject to investigation by the special prosecutor and evidence for the parliamentary inquiry. If there is an attempt to illegally mobilize public power to seize them, we will strongly hold those responsible for destroying evidence accountable."

In relation to this, Rep. Na Kyung-won posted on Facebook, "The Election Commission has launched a fact-finding committee under the guise of external experts, and the President has ordered a joint investigation headquarters of the prosecution and police. Such responses are, in a word, a 'self-exoneration black comedy.' We urge the immediate halt to self fact-finding and self-investigation that deceive the public, and the immediate activation of an opposition-led parliamentary inquiry and special prosecutor."

People Power Party proposes 'Election Commission Comprehensive Special Prosecutor Bill' to investigate allegations including shortage of ballots in local elections [Yonhap News]

Earlier, the People Power Party submitted a request for a parliamentary inquiry on the previous day, under the names of all 110 lawmakers, demanding an investigation into the truth behind the ballot shortage. In the request, the People Power Party argued that the number of members for the special committee on the parliamentary inquiry should be an equal nine from both the ruling and opposition parties, totaling 18, with the committee chairman to be appointed by their party.

The Democratic Party also submitted a request for a parliamentary inquiry regarding the incident on the previous day.

They also stated their position that they would pursue a special prosecutor if necessary, while also expressing caution against excessive political polarization.