Parliamentary committee to inspect election sites over ballot shortages

SEOUL, July 1 (Yonhap) -- A parliamentary special committee looking into ballot shortages during the June local elections will conduct its first on-site inspection this week, officials said Wednesday.

During a plenary meeting earlier in the day, the committee approved a plan to inspect the Songpa District Election Commission and the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in southern Seoul at 10 a.m. Thursday as part of its investigation into the voting and ballot-counting process.

The committee plans to send an official letter requesting police cooperation ahead of the inspection, considering the ongoing protest at the Olympic Park area over the ballot shortages.

The second on-site inspection, originally scheduled for next Wednesday, was moved up to next Tuesday, though its location has yet to be decided.

The committee will hold its first hearing on July 14 and a second hearing on July 22 before adopting its final report on the investigation. It also plans to file complaints against witnesses who fail to appear at the hearings or are found to have given false testimony.

Last month, the National Assembly launched the 18-member committee to investigate the cause of the shortage of ballots at more than a dozen polling stations in Seoul during the June 3 local elections.