Signal Korea's National Assembly passes special counsel bill to investigate election commission

Summary

South Korea's ruling Democratic Party and opposition People Power Party reached a bipartisan agreement on a special counsel bill targeting the National Election Commission over its handling of the June 3 local elections. The bill passed in a plenary session of the National Assembly on July 30. Its targets for investigation include alleged ballot-paper shortages, improper hiring, computer data errors, and allegations of manipulated election statistics at the commission. The special counsel team can investigate for up to 90 days, with two possible 30-day extensions, bringing the maximum investigation period to 150 days. A special counsel probe aimed at an election-management body itself is considered an unusual step. For that reason the bill's passage is being read as a signal within the domain of electoral integrity.