96 observers, including National Assembly nominees, take part
Jang Dong-hyeok: 'Conveying public demands to special prosecutor'
Ruling party calls for end to prolonged occupation of venue
The National Election Commission special prosecutor team led by Lee Tae-han began its public on-site verification Wednesday into a ballot shortage that occurred during the June 3 local elections, with the ruling and opposition parties agreeing on the need for a thorough review but sparring over observer conditions.
The People Power Party demanded guaranteed observer rights and said the special prosecutor must accept citizens' demands, while the Democratic Party of Korea pushed back, warning that the verification process should not be dragged into extraparliamentary politics.
The public verification was conducted at the handball arena in Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul. A total of 96 observers took part, including 45 nominees of the Democratic Party, 40 nominees of the People Power Party, five nominees of the Rebuilding Korea Party, and six staff members from the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee.
The special prosecutor team deployed more than 110 personnel, including prosecutors and deputy special prosecutors, to oversee the verification process. About 500 National Election Commission staff also took part. The team plans to examine 2.47 million ballots and review closed-circuit television footage from the site.
More than 300 protesters and YouTubers gathered outside the venue, causing some disorder as observers entered. Police separated movement routes using human chains and barricades, and no physical clashes occurred.
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok held a press conference outside the handball arena Wednesday morning, saying the ballot recount was beginning "145 days after citizens gathered at Olympic Park to call for the protection of their voting rights, and 147 days after the June 3 local elections." He called for a thorough verification that fully reflected the party's demands so that observers' rights would be properly guaranteed.
Jang reportedly presented the special prosecutor team with five demands: live broadcasts by at least two television networks, guaranteed visual inspection by observers with investigators' consent, designation of a dedicated official to receive and handle observer complaints, establishment of an on-site confirmation and follow-up system, and minimization of police deployment.
"This is not for any political faction — it is about conveying what the public is asking for," Jang said. "I delivered to the special prosecutor what the people have asked to be clarified." He then led chants including "re-election for fraudulent election" and "manual recount on election day," before adding, "I hope the people's special prosecutor, created by the people, will accept the people's aspirations through the verification the people desire."
Jang was not on the official observer list but remained at the scene throughout the day in case of unexpected developments.
The Democratic Party, meanwhile, stressed that the public verification is not a procedure to re-adjudicate the election results. Lawmakers from the party who sit on the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee said at a press conference at the venue that the verification was "not intended to re-judge the election results themselves," but rather "to confirm through objective facts and evidence the claims raised in connection with allegations of election fraud."
"The verification must be carried out based on objective facts and evidence, free from any outside pressure or political considerations," they said, adding that it "should serve as an opportunity to clearly establish the substance of the allegations that have been raised and to resolve the prolonged controversy."
On the ongoing protests at the site, they said legitimate expressions of opinion must be respected, but drew a line against illegal acts that obstruct the verification or threaten safety at the scene.
The conditions Jang presented to the special prosecutor also drew fire from the Democratic Party. Lee Ju-hee, the party's floor spokesperson, criticized Jang for "setting conditions before the special prosecutor — established jointly by the ruling and opposition parties — even begins its verification," calling the move "utterly pathetic." She told Jang to stop dragging the special prosecutor's verification into his own extraparliamentary politics.
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