People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok speaks at a rally in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, on Saturday, where citizens gathered to protest what they called violations of voting rights on June 3. [Yonhap]
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok speaks at a rally in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, on Saturday, where citizens gathered to protest what they called violations of voting rights on June 3. [Yonhap]

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok on Sunday criticized President Lee Jae Myung for raising the idea of electronic voting during a meeting with Korean diaspora members in the United States, saying it was "not something a president who stripped citizens of their voting rights should be saying."

The remarks came after Lee met with Korean community members in San Francisco on Saturday (local time) and addressed the difficulties overseas Koreans face in casting ballots. "Going forward, I'd like to work on systematic improvements — options could include expanding polling stations, introducing mail-in voting, or, if security can be sufficiently guaranteed, electronic voting," Lee said.

In a Facebook post, Jang said citizens already have no faith in the current electoral system, pointing to what he described as exposed "digital manipulation" by the National Election Commission. "Introducing electronic voting on top of that is like asking a cat to guard the fish," he said.

Jang said advanced democracies are actually moving away from e-voting systems they had previously adopted. "For the president to suddenly propose introducing it — I cannot help but question his motives," he said, adding that Lee should "stop talking nonsense and first accept a people's special prosecutor investigation."

In a separate Facebook post, Jang said he could "no longer trust" the joint investigative headquarters or the courts, and called for a special prosecutor probe to be launched without delay.


keg@heraldcorp.com