헌정 질서의 마비, ‘투표용지 증발’로 드러난 선관위의 총체적 무능 > K-wave Trends

The essence of this situation lies in the arrogance of the National Election Commission and the collapse of the administrative system. The National Election Commission drastically lowered the lower limit for printing ballots from 60% to 50% based solely on internal staff decisions, without any formal decision-making process or sufficient review. This decision was typical of desk administration that only considered cost reduction and convenience, ignoring the special characteristics of the election field. As a result, 91 polling places across the country ran out of ballots, and in some areas, including the 2nd polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, voting was suspended for a long time, seriously violating the people's right to vote. The fact that the National Election Commission did not deploy reserve personnel in advance or prepare a specific manual to prepare for shortage situations proves that they neglected their basic responsibilities as an election management agency.

The disappearance of key evidence despite the court's order to preserve evidence is increasing suspicions about this situation. The court ordered the preservation of ballot storage boxes at the 2nd polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, to be used as trial evidence, but the National Election Commission destroyed them just a few hours before the court's notification. The National Election Commission explains, "The box in question is a simple object with no legal obligation to keep it," but citizens and the opposition are strongly opposing it, raising suspicions of destruction of evidence. The situation where verification was impossible due to the polling place being cleaned out poured cold water on the judiciary's efforts to reveal the truth of the situation, and clearly revealed how opaque and closed the National Election Commission's management method is.

The anger of local officials and labor unions in charge of field work is also reaching its peak. The National Civil Service Workers' Union declared that it could no longer tolerate the deformed structure in which the National Election Commission only exercised its authority and passed responsibility for accidents to front-line public officials. Civil servants who had been forcibly mobilized for election work and played the role of 'bullet cannons' took this incident as an opportunity to signal their refusal of election work and to demand reform at the level of disbanding and re-establishing the National Election Commission. In particular, practitioners in the field are pointing out the limitations of the paper voting system and are strongly urging fundamental system innovation, such as the introduction of electronic voting. This is a symbolic scene that goes beyond a simple issue of improving treatment and shows that distrust in election management has reached a critical point.

Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, the National Election Commission hurriedly launched a truth-finding committee composed of nine outsiders, and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office established a joint investigation headquarters between the prosecution and police and began a full-scale investigation. Although the theory of responsibility is spreading, with Songpa-gu Election Commission Chairman Min So-young expressing her resignation and being dismissed, public criticism shows no signs of abating. Some are defining the ballot shortage as a crisis of constitutional order rather than a simple administrative error, and the political repercussions are growing, with even talk of a government investigation and the introduction of a special prosecutor. If the National Election Commission cannot regain trust on its own, future elections will not be free from the public's suspicious gaze.