Election agency chief resists pressure to resign

Chairperson Noh Jeong-hee faces increasing calls from within to step down over mishandled ballots

By Nam Hyun-woo

National Election Commission (NEC) Chairperson Noh Jeong-hee has resisted mounting calls to resign to take responsibility for irregularities in early voting procedures of the presidential election.

Noh has been facing pressure to resign amid growing doubts over the agency's neutrality, after the commission's secretary general offered to resign on Wednesday to take responsibility. The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has been increasing the pressure on Noh to shoulder the responsibility as the main person overseeing the election.

According to the NEC, it accepted NEC Secretary General Kim Se-hwan's resignation on Thursday during a closed-door meeting.

One of the participants was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying Noh will try to do better but stated no plans to resign. “Noh said she feels the responsibility for the criticisms on the NEC, and she will spare no efforts to improve management of elections down the road,” the participant said.

Another NEC official who was present also said there were no objections made when Noh stated her intention to stay in power.

The meeting came after Kim offered to resign on Wednesday.

The NEC has come under fire after early voting for COVID-19 patients and those in quarantine ended on March 5 in a debacle. Those voters were not allowed to put their votes directly into official ballot boxes, and workers instead collected them in plastic bags and other unofficial containers, sparking accusations of ballot mishandling and election fraud.

Kim's resignation also came a day after media reports were released that he allegedly gave favors to help his son get a job at the Incheon Election Commission.

According to the NEC, Kim's son, a government employee in Incheon, was transferred from Gangwha County Office to the Incheon Election Commission in January 2020, where he was promoted just six months later.

A civic group named the Committee for Ordinary Persons' Livelihood filed a police complaint against Kim for allegedly flexing his muscles behind his son's suspicious promotion.

In response, 15 out of 20 standing commissioners of municipal election commissions, the National Election Broadcasting Debates Commission and the Internet Election News Deliberation Commission issued a joint statement on Wednesday, demanding Noh step down.

“To cope with the current situation and help the NEC regain public trust, the chairperson should make a public apology and decide whether or not she will continue to serve as the NEC chief,” the statement reads.

It was unprecedented for NEC standing commissioners to take collective action urging the chairperson to resign.

PPP members have also been calling for Noh's resignation over the early voting fiasco.

“Most standing commissioners of the NEC have demanded Noh's resignation,” PPP floor leader Kim Gi-hyeon said Thursday. “The only way for her to do right by the NEC and the public is by stepping down from the post voluntarily, rather than resisting the mounting calls.”

PPP spokeswoman Rep. Her Eun-a also called for Noh to step down. “If Noh keeps her post despite her incompetence and bias, what change can we expect to come in the election agency, even though the NEC secretary general, who follows the chairperson's orders, resigns?” she said. “Kim's resignation is insufficient to make up for the NEC's incompetence and bias, or for it to regain public trust.”

The PPP had already been raising doubts over the NEC's political neutrality even before the early voting fiasco, citing Noh's role of exonerating ruling Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung from charges of violating election law when she was a Supreme Court justice in 2020.

Lee stood trial on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act when he was elected as Gyeonggi Province governor in 2018. His victory was nullified in a 2019 high court ruling, but in 2020 the Supreme Court sent the case back to the high court demanding a reversal.

Noh's predecessor, Kwon Soon-il, was one of the Supreme Court justices who had judged Lee not guilty.

Though Noh is resisting calls to step down from her post, it is uncertain whether the NEC will be able to prepare for the June 1 local elections thoroughly, as it has yet to name a new secretary general and two of the nine NEC commissioner seats are vacant.

The NEC consists of nine commissioners, including three appointed by the President, three from the National Assembly and three from the Supreme Court.

Currently, the NEC's standing commissioner post is vacant after Cho Hai-ju resigned following criticisms that he was biased toward the Moon Jae-in administration. Moon Sang-boo, who had been recommended by the PPP to the NEC, also withdrew his candidacy, citing his membership in the party.