![Former National Election Commission Chairman Noh Tae-ak apologizes to the public at the NEC headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, on June 5 over a ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/22/news-p.v1.20260622.e59cc00c854345b68e89b344a81ee795_P1.jpg)
Former National Election Commission Chairman Noh Tae-ak came to work just one day a month yet collected more than 4 million won ($2,610) in allowances, newly released records show.
Attendance and pay records covering the past three years, submitted by the NEC to Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Yun Geon-yeong, show that Noh attended a single regular meeting in November 2024 and received 4.25 million won in allowances for that month.
In July of the same year, he worked two days — attending a regular meeting and a Constitution Day ceremony — and collected 3.5 million won.
In January 2025, when a general election was held, Noh came in six times, but half of those visits were for a New Year's reception, a New Year's concert and the opening ceremony of the Winter Youth Olympics. His attendance log also included appearances at a Czech Independence Day event and a Sports Day ceremony.
This year, Noh logged 45 days of attendance before resigning on June 5 to take responsibility for the ballot shortage that struck the June 3 local elections.
The allowance structure for non-standing NEC commissioners also drew scrutiny. NEC data showed that one non-standing commissioner missed all meetings in October and November last year yet still received 2.15 million won per month in allowances, including a fair election promotion activity stipend.
Non-standing commissioners' allowances consist of an attendance fee, a case-review fee and the fair election promotion stipend — and the stipend accounts for the largest share of the total. The stipend is paid regardless of attendance: 2.9 million won per month for the NEC chairman and 2.15 million won per month for non-standing commissioners.
"No matter how part-time the system is, a structure in which the chairman and commissioners receive a fixed monthly allowance while playing no actual role in the NEC's work is hard for the public to accept," Yun said. "This is something that must be thoroughly re-examined as part of the structural reform of the NEC that this crisis has made necessary."
The documents sent to Yun also showed that Noh received his first report on the ballot shortage only 40 minutes before polls were scheduled to close on the day of the June 3 local elections.
123@heraldcorp.com
