“The National Election Commission needs to be completely overhauled,” the consensus said… “We thoroughly reject the election fraud conspiracy theory.”
Everyone mobilized regardless of faction… “Senior” Oh Se-hoon gives written congratulatory speech to Korean lawmakers
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Soo-yoon and Lee Yu-lip = People Power Party lawmakers, New Reform Party floor leaders, and independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon gathered together on the 23rd to put their heads together for reform of the National Election Commission and kick-start legislative cooperation with the conservative opposition.
On this day, Rep. Seong-kwon Lee of the People Power Party co-hosted a discussion session on 'My one vote lost, shaky democracy - damage to suffrage and electoral system reform' co-hosted with the conservative civic group Pan-Civil Society Organization (Pan-Soryeon) at the National Assembly Hall.
It attracted attention with the attendance of many non-party factions such as the 'Alternatives and Future' group of reform-minded lawmakers, pro-Han Dong-hoon faction, and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's faction, as well as old mainstream pro-Yoon (pro-Yun Seok faction) lawmakers.
Six-term National Assembly member Ho-Young Joo, who served as vice-chairman of the National Assembly, said, "The National Election Commission may feel insulting, but it does not recruit employees independently and instead gathers applicants from each ministry, creating a structure that is in fact made up of people who have not adapted to their respective ministries." He added, "Our Representative Han Dong-hoon also introduced the first bill (Neon Commission Inspection Act), and the National Election Commission must be completely overhauled to make it an organization that can be trusted by the people."
Representative Kim Ki-hyeon, a five-term party leader, emphasized, “We must create a system that can control the National Election Commission, keeping in mind that uncontrolled power inevitably corrupts.”
One lawmaker raised his voice, saying, "President Lee Jae-myung and the ruling party are calling for a 'one-point constitutional amendment' as if they were also victims, but President Lee is the one who should feel the most responsibility for this situation, reflect and apologize, rather than spoon-feeding the flow of constitutional amendment."
He added, “The goal of conservative reconstruction is to win a landslide victory in the 2028 general election and regain power in 2030,” adding, “To do so, conservative politics must show its ability and competence in a state where justice and competence have collapsed.”
Attendees distanced themselves from the comprehensive re-election advocated by Representative Jang Dong-hyuk.
Rep. Lee, who hosted the discussion, said, "We must reject the theory that it leads to a conspiracy theory of election fraud. Restoring deprivation of voting rights is important, but the claim of 'comprehensive re-elections' in which voters who normally exercised their voting rights may be deprived of their voting rights again may be unconstitutional."
New Reform Party floor leader Cheon Har-ram also added, "I was surprised that we reduced our momentum and scope so that only those who believe in rigged elections could speak out on this topic even within the supporters of the People Power Party. If we hold a full-scale re-election, the suffrage rights of those who voted normally will be infringed."
Attending the debate on this day were 6-term Rep. Joo Ho-young, 5-term Rep. Kim Ki-hyeon, 4-term Rep. Jae-ok Yoon, 3-term Reps. Seong Il-jong, Song Seok-jun, and Shin Seong-beom, re-elected Reps. Lee Seong-kwon, Park Jeong-ha, Kwon Young-jin, Kim Ye-ji, Kim Hyeong-dong, Park Soo-young, and Eom Tae-young, first-term Reps. Kwak Gyu-taek, Jeong Yeon-wook, Kim Jang-gyeom, Kim So-hee, Woo Jae-jun, and Lee Dal-hee, and New Reform Party Rep. Cheon Har-ram.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was initially expected to attend, replaced his attendance by sending a written congratulatory message.
Meanwhile, Rep. Han shook hands with the People Power Party members one by one on this day and showed close contact, calling Reps. Joo Ho-young and Lee Seong-kwon "seniors."
He met with reporters after the debate and said about reinstatement to the People Power Party, "This is not a reinstatement from my personal standpoint, but there is a big task of correcting the country ahead of a big fight such as cancellation of indictment," and "There is clearly a golden time for that process."
When asked about running for the presidency in 2030, he answered, "I will do whatever I can to make the country prosper, and whatever the people want."
