Han Dong-hoon, winner of the Busan Buk-gu Gap constituency race, pumps his fist while embracing a campaign staffer at his election office after his victory was confirmed Thursday. [Yonhap]
Han Dong-hoon, winner of the Busan Buk-gu Gap constituency race, pumps his fist while embracing a campaign staffer at his election office after his victory was confirmed Thursday. [Yonhap]

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon plans to introduce as his first piece of legislation a bill amending the Board of Audit and Inspection Act to allow the board to conduct external audits of the National Election Commission.

Han announced the plan Sunday on Facebook, writing that "now that it has been confirmed the NEC has become an untouchable sanctuary free from any oversight — to the point where even the basics of election administration are under threat — this problem must be clearly corrected through new legislation."

"Election administration must be 100 percent fair, not just as fair as possible," he wrote. "The ballot shortage caused by the NEC is shocking because it betrayed even the minimum expectation of fairness. It is only natural that the public is outraged, and no one should take that anger lightly."

Han said he intends to introduce a bill adding a provision to Article 24 of the Board of Audit and Inspection Act that would authorize performance audits of the NEC and its regional bodies. The legislation would also include an exception barring audit findings on the NEC from being reported to the president.

The NEC has in the past effectively opposed similar bills, arguing they raise constitutional concerns. As a constitutionally independent body, the commission has said performance audits by the Board of Audit and Inspection could constrain its ability to carry out its constitutional duties, and that board involvement in elections and referendums could undermine public trust.

Han also said he would introduce a second bill aimed at restricting NEC employees' use of leave and temporary leave to levels comparable to those in the private sector.

"Official statistics confirm a sharp spike in NEC staff taking leave and temporary leave whenever an election season arrives," he said. He noted that in February 2021, when no major election was scheduled, 84 NEC employees were on temporary leave — a figure that surged to 226 in June 2022, when a presidential election and local elections were held simultaneously.

Citing a proviso in the Labor Standards Act, Han criticized the commission, saying that "even in private workplaces, employers are allowed to adjust the timing of workers' leave during periods critical to business operations. Because NEC employees are not directly subject to the Labor Standards Act, they have been concentrating their leave and temporary leave around major elections."


dlcw@heraldcorp.com