South Korean Parties Clash Over Timing of Ballot Recount Amid Election Fraud Allegations

The ruling and opposition parties clashed Wednesday over when a public recount of ballots should be conducted in connection with ballot shortages reported during the June 3 local elections.

During the second hearing of a special parliamentary committee investigating the incident, the ruling Democratic Party (DP) called for an immediate recount before the committee wraps up its probe to help determine whether the ballots had been properly handled, while lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) argued that it should be conducted after a proposed special counsel completes its investigation.

Wednesday's hearing came a day after the rival parties reached an agreement to pass a special counsel bill within the month to investigate the ballot shortages.

"As the people gathered at the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium are claiming election fraud, we should verify the results through a recount," DP Rep. Lee Hae-sik said. "It was PPP lawmakers who initially proposed the recount, but it appears that their party leader has changed his mind."

The special parliamentary committee's probe, which kicked off June 23, is set to last until Aug. 1.

Earlier this month, PPP Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun proposed that the National Election Commission conduct a public recount of approximately 2.47 million ballots stored at the gymnasium, which had served as a ballot counting center during the elections, to dispel lingering public doubts over the handling of the elections.

PPP leader Jang Dong-hyuk, however, has argued that the special counsel probe should be conducted first rather than pushing for a recount, stressing the need to first verify that the ballot boxes and ballot papers had not been tampered with.

He also insisted that an election re-run should follow if the special counsel finds that people were deprived of their voting rights.

"A recount alone cannot resolve all allegations," PPP Rep. Joo Jin-woo said during the hearing. "It is not too late to conduct a recount after the special counsel has conducted an objective investigation."

Some PPP lawmakers, however, including Suh Bum-soo and Park Soo-min, supported the recount, saying it could be conducted along with the special counsel investigation.