On the 16th, Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Yoo Seung-min is blocked by protesters while attempting to enter the Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, where protests blocking the vote counting center have been ongoing following the ballot shortage incident during the June 3 local elections. To his left is People Power Party lawmaker Park Dae-chul. [Joint Press Coverage] 

People Power Party lawmaker Park Dae-chul (Jinju-gap, Gyeongnam) proposed an amendment to the Public Official Election Act on the 18th that would abolish early voting and extend the main election day to two days.

This is the first time a bill to abolish the early voting system has been proposed since discussions on reforming the National Election Commission (NEC) began in earnest following the ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections.

The core of the amendment is to abolish the early voting system and replace it by extending the current single-day main election to two days.

The bill also includes the reintroduction of an "absentee voting system," which would allow voters who cannot participate in the main election to cast their ballots over a two-day period starting four days before election day, provided they register in advance.

A total of 25 lawmakers participated in proposing the bill, including Representative Park, senior three- to four-term lawmakers such as Kim Sang-hoon, Yoon Young-seok, Kim Sung-won, Kim Jung-jae, and Song Eon-seok, members of the party leadership such as Supreme Council member Shin Dong-wook, and Lee Man-hee and Kwon Young-jin of the "Alternative and Future" group.

On Facebook, Representative Park emphasized, "I am deeply concerned that, under the current system, thorough election management—not to mention early voting itself—is beyond the operational capacity of the NEC," adding, "We can no longer allow a situation where the essence of an election, its fairness and credibility, is severely undermined. We must break this 'chain of distrust' that causes immense social costs and conflict."

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, who was expelled from the People Power Party, also participated in this proposal. An official from Han's side explained, "I understand that he participated as a co-sponsor because he agrees with the purpose of the bill, including the extension of the main election day, the abolition of the early voting system, and the introduction of absentee voting."