Yesterday (5th), the unprecedented confirmation and ripple of poor ballot management at the advance voting booth emerged as the final deterrent for the presidential election.



Politicians, who have encouraged early voting, are in total chaos without being dissatisfied with the record-high turnout of 37%.



The ruling and opposition parties criticized the National Election Commission, which is responsible for managing the election today (6th), and ordered measures to prevent the problem from reoccurring on the 9th, the main voting day.



Still, he kept a close eye on the situation, drawing a line against the 'theory of election fraud' asserted by some in the political circles.



The National Election Commission issued a statement one day after the incident occurred today and emphasized, "It is very regrettable and apologetic for the inconvenience caused to electors confirmed with Corona 19 in advance voting." I did.



After criticizing the NEC's poor management, the opposition and opposition parties began to demand an investigation into the truth.



In an interview with MBN's 'Sisa Special' today, Song Young-gil, president of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "Before I came, I urged Jeon Hae-cheol, Minister of the Interior and Safety and Secretary General of the National Election Commission, to express a strong protest and take measures to prevent recurrence."



Lee Nak-yeon, chairman of the general election campaign, said on Facebook, "There must have been difficulties due to the rapid increase in the number of confirmed cases and quarantines. But everyone knew that." "The Korean National Election Commission in 2022, right? It's disgusting," he criticized.



Ho-jung Yun, floor leader, also met with reporters at the company in Yeouido and said, "The truth needs to be investigated first, and after that, the National Election Commission must take responsibility."



In the morning, Democratic lawmakers including Seo Young-gyo, chairman of the National Assembly's Administrative Safety Committee, visited the National Election Commission in Gwacheon to protest and demand countermeasures.



The People's Power urged the resignation of those in charge, such as the chairman of the National Election Commission and the secretary-general, as well as finding out the truth.



Representative Lee Jun-seok criticized at a meeting of the fleet headquarters, saying, "The Election Commission's planning for the early voting for this confirmed case was comfy, the implementation process was crude, and the post-mortem explanation was overbearing."



He added that "there should be an immediate statement from the person who will take full responsibility for this incident."



Kwon Young-se, head of the predecessor's campaign headquarters, also pointed out, "It is so messed up that I doubt whether the elections held in Korea in the 21st century are true.



He said, "We are collecting cases of damage, and we will definitely ask the person responsible for failing to properly guarantee the people's suffrage by understanding the facts clearly."



In a commentary, spokesperson Oh Seung-dae of the Justice Party said, "The poor management of early voting for COVID-19 confirmed patients is on the cutting board."



"As the issue continued, the National Election Commission apologized, saying that it would come up with a countermeasure," he said.



However, the ruling and opposition parties are drawing a line on the so-called 'fake election' conspiracy theory.



In a situation where all efforts are being made to gather supporters until the last minute, if it leads to a 'voting boycott' based on the theory of fraudulent elections, it seems that it will block this in advance as it may cause a setback in raising the turnout on the main voting day.



In particular, in the case of the Democratic Party and the People's Power, as the candidates of the Liberal Party are in a very close battle, they may be caught in the dilemma of 'self-denial' when they win the election after stepping on the theory of election fraud.



As a result, both parties are focusing on 'prevention of recurrence'.



Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung said on Facebook yesterday, "People who were confirmed with Corona today experienced a lot of inconvenience in the voting process. Guaranteeing the right to vote is our top priority." We need to take strict measures to prevent a recurrence,” he said.



Song Yeong-gil, CEO of the National Election Commission, said, "(The National Election Commission) admits to their mistakes and the number of confirmed cases is far away, so the distance between the polling place and the polling place is far from being properly verified." I will,” he said.



People's Power Candidate Yoon Seok-yeol said on Facebook, "I strongly urge the government and the National Election Commission," and "I hope that thorough measures will be taken to prevent such confusion on the main voting day of March 9."



At a rally in Gangdong, Candidate Yoon appealed, "From my point of view, it's a division among conservative voters, who always have suspicions of early voting fraud."



Director Kwon held a press conference after the meeting and said, "I earnestly appeal to you not to be disappointed by the Election Commission's poor management and to actively participate in the voting."



On the 5th, the last day of early voting, the National Election Commission caused a controversy by moving the ballot papers marked by a confirmed person or quarantined person to a ballot box in a plastic bag, paper box, or plastic colander.



(Photo = provided by the reader, Yonhap News)