A four-way meeting on June 8 at the presidential office called for accountability and structural changes at the National Election Commission after ballot shortages disrupted the June 3 local elections.
President Lee Jae Myung, National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik, Chief Justice Jo Hee-de, Constitutional Court President Kim Sang-hwan and Prime Minister Kim Min-seok attended the meeting. The president admitted a lack of sensitivity on sovereignty issues and said the incident was separate from election fraud claims. The Democratic Party submitted a request for a parliamentary investigation. People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok called for a nationwide rerun election. Exit poll results released by broadcasters while voting continued in Songpa also drew criticism. The editorials stressed that the commission's independence should not shield it from accountability. They called for external oversight or major restructuring, including separating judges from local election commission roles.
