The fate of the Election Commission? As the joint investigation headquarters of the prosecution and police, which is investigating the 'ballot shortage incident' during the June 3 local elections, appears to be concluding its seizure and search of the National Election Commission's servers and moving on to a full-scale investigation, this is a scene from the National Election Commission in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, on June 15. [Yonhap News File Photo]

The "Special Committee for the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections Ballot Shortage Incident and the Investigation of Violations of Citizens' Right to Participate and Electoral Management Reform" held its first meeting on the 18th, commencing its full-scale activities.

At the first plenary meeting, the committee appointed Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the People Power Party as the chairman, and Reps. Yoon Kun-young of the Democratic Party of Korea and Seo Bum-soo of the People Power Party as the floor leaders for the ruling and opposition parties, respectively, and adopted the parliamentary inquiry plan.

The parliamentary inquiry period will be 45 days, from the 18th to August 1st, and the investigative targets will be the National Election Commission and all levels of election commissions.

The scope of the investigation includes: ▲ The circumstances of the ballot shortage incident and whether there were deficiencies in the criteria for calculating the number of ballots to be printed and the process of establishing related guidelines ▲ All matters related to the on-site management by the election commission on election day ▲ The timing of the election commission's awareness of the ballot shortage, the operation of the command and reporting system, and the appropriateness of post-incident response measures ▲ The extent of infringement on voters' right to participate, such as delays and temporary suspension of voting due to the ballot shortage ▲ The accountability of the election commission, such as dereliction of duty, during the incident and the subsequent recovery process.

Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the People Power Party, appointed as chairman, emphasized in his opening remarks, "The fact that people could not vote because there were no ballots, which is the most basic aspect of exercising the right to vote, is a complete failure and incompetence of electoral administration," and stressed, "We must clearly ascertain the responsibility, from the causes of the incident to the entire process of post-incident recovery."

Rep. Yoon Kun-young, the floor leader for the ruling party, stated, "The ballot shortage incident has literally trampled on and violated the citizens' right to participate. There is no divide between the ruling and opposition parties, nor between progressives and conservatives on this matter," adding, "This parliamentary inquiry has no room for partisan politics. The ruling and opposition parties must work together to thoroughly hold the Election Commission accountable for its incompetence and mismanagement, and to find measures for institutional reform."

The parliamentary inquiry plan, having passed through the special committee, is expected to be adopted at the plenary session of the National Assembly to be held on the afternoon of the 18th.