Prime minister chairs public forum on NEC reform

'Broad public debate on electoral system unavoidable'

Blockade protest enters 17th day with 1,000 participants

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok speaks at a public forum on NEC reform held at Korea National Sport University in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Sunday. [Yonhap]
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok speaks at a public forum on NEC reform held at Korea National Sport University in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Sunday. [Yonhap]

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said Sunday he is considering a single-issue constitutional amendment to reform the National Election Commission, calling for broad public debate that transcends partisan lines.

Kim made the remarks at a public forum on NEC reform held at a university in Songpa-gu, Seoul. "I often think that unless we settle on an alternative the public can understand, this problem will be very hard to resolve," he said.

"Dissolving the NEC is difficult, and going back to having it under the Interior Ministry as in the past is also difficult," Kim said. "I have been thinking deeply lately about a single-issue constitutional amendment — one that would preserve the NEC's independence while subjecting it to external checks and oversight. That may be the only answer."

He added that the president had also raised the idea, and that he has been consulting constitutional scholars. "I have been listening to their views on how a single-issue amendment addressing the NEC's composition and independence should be structured," Kim said.

Kim said NEC reform must be seen through to the end. "If a single-issue constitutional amendment is needed, it must be done," he said. "It should not be approached in a partisan way — I hope the ruling and opposition parties and the public will debate this with the resolve to reach a conclusion."

He also said a comprehensive public debate on the broader electoral system is unavoidable. "This moment has brought up a range of technical issues — early voting, voting hours and more," Kim said. "Even if we cannot resolve everything at once, the debate must begin."

On the ballot shortage that first triggered the controversy over the NEC, Kim said "democracy seems like a long and arduous road." He said he had believed South Korean democracy had advanced a step by resolving the Dec. 3 martial law crisis, only to find itself confronting a new and fundamental problem.

"The public's right to vote — the very foundation of democracy — has drawn widespread anger over the NEC's mismanagement," he said. "At the same time, in the course of pushing back against that, we have also seen illegal and disruptive behavior carried out in the name of democracy, blocking citizens' daily lives and violating basic order. Two problems have emerged simultaneously."

Kim spoke positively of young people's role in raising the issue, saying it reflects "a demand in our society for a higher standard of fairness and trust." He suggested the government could look for ways to support a public deliberation process led by youth and university students.

Meanwhile, a blockade protest at the handball arena inside Olympic Park in Seoul — where a vote-counting center is located — entered its 17th day Sunday. As of 10 a.m., about 1,000 people, according to an unofficial police estimate, had surrounded the venue, chanting slogans such as "fraudulent election — hold a new one" and "hand-count ballots on election day."

Real-time urban data from the Seoul Metropolitan Government showed between 10,000 and 12,000 people present in Olympic Park at the time, with those in their 40s making up the largest age group at 19.8 percent. Middle-aged and older adults, young people, and families with children were gathered near the counting center, sharing ice cream and ramyun.


anju1015@heraldcorp.com