National Assembly Approves Parliamentary Probe into Ballot Shortages

SEOUL, June 18 (Yonhap) -- The National Assembly on Thursday approved a parliamentary investigation into ballot shortages reported during the recent local elections, kicking off a 45-day probe into the unprecedented incident.

The investigation plan was approved in a 250-1 vote during a parliamentary plenary session.

Under the plan, an 18-member special committee in charge of the probe will investigate the cause of the shortage of ballots reported at more than a dozen polling stations in Seoul during the June 3 local elections.

The investigation is set to last until Aug. 1 and may be extended with parliamentary approval.

The National Election Commission has acknowledged that at least 26 polling stations nationwide had experienced at least a temporary shortage of ballot papers on election day.

The committee is chaired by Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), and comprises nine members from the ruling Democratic Party (DP), seven from the PPP and one each from the minor Rebuilding Korea Party and the New Reform Party.

On Tuesday, the DP and the PPP agreed to launch the parliamentary investigation into the election watchdog and its regional offices after reaching a compromise on the scope of the probe and the number of committee seats to be allotted to each party.

The PPP had initially called for a broader investigation, including a separate special counsel probe, while the DP maintained that such a move should be considered after a parliamentary investigation.

The presidential office and police, which the PPP had sought to include in the investigation, have been excluded from the scope of the probe.