NEC has faced many accusations of liberal bias in recent elections
President Moon Jae-in rejected the resignation of Cho Hai-ju, the standing commissioner of the National Election Commission (NEC). The media reported that President Moon is aiming to have Cho become a general commissioner after his term as standing commissioner ends, which would be unprecedented.
The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) argued that Moon is trying to influence the election commission, as Cho has faced controversy ever since Moon appointed him even though he worked for Moon’s presidential campaign in 2017.
The NEC is composed of 9 members. Among them, three are appointed by the president, three are elected by the National Assembly and three are nominated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The chairperson and the standing commissioner are elected by the commissioners and a justice of the Supreme Court is elected to be the Chairperson.
The term of the standing commissioner, which is at the ministerial level, is three years and for other commissioners, it is six years. The standing commissioner oversees the NEC’s overall management and operation, so their political neutrality has been a key issue during the appointment process. However, Cho was appointed as commissioner even though he worked for Moon’s election team. Moon went ahead with Cho’s appointment although opposition parties refused to hold a confirmation hearing out of concern that he would not be capable of maintaining political neutrality.
Kim Ki-hyun, floor leader of the PPP, held an unscheduled press briefing on January 19 to criticize Moon for rejecting Cho’s resignation. “This is unconstitutional tyranny of destroying the NEC, which needs to maintain political neutrality,” Kim said. “Cho is the one who made the NEC the National Moon Jae-in Commission by ignoring the commission’s mission to be fair and neutral.”
Kim argued that seven out of eight NEC commissioners are now from the pro-Moon faction and that the Blue House is trying to use this trick to prevent the opposition party from recommending a new member to replace Cho. Those seven commissioners were all appointed during the Moon administration. For example, Cho Sung-dae, an ardent Moon supporter, was appointed as a member of the commission last year. He even argued that he does not believe North Korea is responsible for the sinking of the South Korean naval ship Cheonan by a North Korean torpedo that killed 46 seamen on board. He was recommended by the ruling Democratic Party (DP), and this also was very controversial at the time.
Another PPP official told the media that it was revealed that the ruling party is trying to hold the presidential election in March and regional elections in June after filling the NEC with members who are pro-Moon.
After this news broke, it was later reported that Cho will be on vacation starting January 19 to 24, which is the day his term ends. Some critics argued that he is trying to avoid public attention until his term ends as the standing commissioner and his term as a general commissioner begins.
The NEC has been embroiled in controversy multiple times. During the 2021 Seoul and Busan mayoral elections, the NEC banned civic groups and private citizens from using slogans and banners that included phrases such as “Double standard,” “Incompetence,” and “Why are we even conducting this election in the first place?” The reason the NEC banned these phrases was that it would possibly remind the people of the ruling DP.
The NEC has been criticized for being biased since it does not seem to apply the same standards to election campaigns run by the liberal faction. For example, the Traffic Broadcasting System, run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, used a slogan saying “Let’s do 1” during this year’s election. “1” is pronounced “Il,” in Korean, which then would translate as “Let’s do the work,” but at the same time, it would also be interpreted as “Let’s go ahead with 1,” referring to the DP candidate, who was candidate No. 1.
During the 2020 April 15 general election, the NEC allowed the DP to use its campaign slogan “Root out past ills!” while banning the opposition from using its slogan “Devastated livelihoods!” The NEC was criticized for banning the use of the “Proportional Liberty Korea Party” as the name of the new party established by the Liberty Korea Party for the proportional representative election, saying that it could remind people of a certain party. However, the NEC allowed the use of the “Open Democratic Party” as the name of the DP’s proportional representative party.
A clear pattern of bias is emerging, and it appears that President Moon wants this to continue through the presidential election.
