The voting system in Korea lacks procedural transparency. Citizens have continually raised concerns, but the government and the National Election Commission have maintained a closed stance, undermining institutional trust. Now, change is necessary.
On the 25th, the U.S. Election Monitoring Delegation, which visited Korea, emphasized this. They are a private organization monitoring Korea’s election system for the 21st general election, comprising experts from various fields, including ▲Morse Tan, former International Criminal Justice Ambassador at the U.S. Department of State, ▲John Mills, former Director of Cybersecurity Policy at the U.S. Department of Defense, ▲Grant Newsham, former Marine Corps strategy officer, and ▲Bradley Thayer, political science Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Their goal is to directly observe the elections, verify the procedural fairness of the elections, and prepare a report to share with the international community.
As early voting took place over the two days starting on the 29th, controversies surrounding the election process continued. On the first day of voting, there was an incident in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, where ballots were transported outside the polling station, while a contract worker was caught voting on behalf of her husband using his identification card in Gangnam-gu. In Bucheon and Gimpo, ballots from the 22nd general election were discovered, raising further concerns about the National Election Commission’s inadequate management. Additionally, on the 30th, Chang Dong-hyuk, head of the People Power Party’s election countermeasure committee, stated, ‘There is a discrepancy between the number of early voters announced by the National Election Commission and the actual number of voters.’
In an interview with ChosunBiz on the 31st, the U.S. Election Monitoring Delegation pointed out Korea’s closed election system and argued that improvements to ensure procedural transparency are urgently needed. Countless questions have been raised about Korea’s election system so far, but without any significant improvements being made, public trust in the election system has severely deteriorated, according to their overall assessment. The following is a Q&A with the Election Monitoring Delegation.
Please introduce the U.S. Election Monitoring Delegation. When was it formed, and how did you decide to come to Korea?
Morse Tan (hereafter Tan) ‘The U.S. Election Monitoring Delegation is a private monitoring group whose discussions began in late 2024 and was formed in March of this year. We decided to come to Korea with hopes for the strengthening of its democracy. Korea is a key ally of the U.S. and a strategic point where information warfare from China and North Korea is concentrated. If democracy in Korea is compromised, its repercussions could affect not only Asia but the international order as a whole. Therefore, the international community needs to pay closer attention to Korea’s election system at this time. Moreover, issues such as interference from the Chinese Communist Party and the decline of election credibility are also matters that apply to the U.S., requiring careful observation.’
Grant Newsham (hereafter Newsham) ‘I conducted in-depth research on Korea’s 2020 general election. Initially, I did not anticipate any issues. However, as the investigation progressed, I discovered considerable abnormal patterns during the election process. I encountered serious cases, such as statistically impossible counting results, discrepancies in mail-in ballot delivery records, and votes cast at impossible speeds, leading me to monitor the 2022 presidential election and the 2024 general election. I felt that change was necessary, which led me to come directly to Korea.’
What activities have you undertaken since your arrival in Korea? Have you attempted to contact the National Election Commission?
Newsham ‘I arrived in Seoul about a week before the early voting commenced and immediately began my activities. I’ve been busy visiting early voting sites, conducting interviews with civic groups and the media, and participating in rallies. I have also given interviews to media outlets such as CBS and Newsmax and have been in touch with Korean media and YouTube channels. I am engaging in election monitoring activities while communicating with representatives from civic organizations that have voluntarily taken up the role of election monitoring.’
I requested to observe the National Election Commission several times, but was denied. Despite the monitoring delegation expressing a commitment to operate transparently according to international law, they have effectively blocked all external monitoring. This is a very serious issue that raises doubts about the transparency that should be upheld in elections.
As an expert, how would you evaluate Korea’s electoral system? What institutional flaws are concerning?
Bradley Thayer (hereafter Thayer) ‘Personally, I rate Korea’s electoral system at about 3 to 4 points out of 10. This is better than North Korea or Zimbabwe, but it is a very low score for a trusted democracy.’
Especially when compared to the UN’s international election standards, Korea’s election system is imbued with too much potential for manipulation. In Taiwan, which has an excellent electoral system, the process is very straightforward and clear. All votes are cast in one day, with individuals personally going to cast their ballots while counting is done in multiple stages. In contrast, Korea has complex procedures for overseas voting and early voting, and the electronic counting system is susceptible to hacking. Also, it is frequent for citizens who are engaging in legitimate monitoring activities to be arrested by the police or reported by the National Election Commission. This behavior infringes upon the rights of election monitoring and significantly deviates from international standards.
There was a lot of noise during the recent early voting as well. Did you discover any issues during your monitoring activities?
John Mills (hereafter Mills) ‘I witnessed numerous cases where the transparency and verifiability of the voting were not upheld. Earlier, civic groups that had stepped up to monitor the elections counted the number of voters at over 3,500 early voting sites across the country and found numerous instances where the National Election Commission’s announcement did not match the actual number of votes cast. There were reports of ballots pre-marked for specific candidates and instances where votes for other candidates were shredded.’
There were also instances where ballots were transported to restaurants outside polling stations or where voter identity checks were executed carelessly. The biometric authentication process for voters was merely for show, and identification was confirmed using student IDs, allowing foreign students to participate in voting. Considering the recent SKT hacking incident, which resulted in more than half of the nation’s personal information being leaked, it raises questions about whether the National Election Commission is performing its role adequately.
There are also criticisms that the U.S. monitoring delegation’s involvement in Korea’s election is an interference in internal affairs. What are your thoughts on that?
Newsham ‘First of all, we are not affiliated with the U.S. government, so the very notion of interference in internal affairs does not hold. We are a private monitoring group that supports Korean democracy and merely watches to ensure that citizens’ voting rights are properly protected. According to international electoral laws, the activities of external monitoring groups are entirely legitimate, and both the United Nations and international organizations encourage this.'
Rather, we aim to prevent actual interference in internal affairs that North Korea and the Chinese Communist Party may attempt secretly. Their political intervention represents a real threat, and we are in a position to warn against it. Anyone truly concerned about Korea’s democracy should not remain silent about the current phenomenon where the electoral system and monitoring functions are being undermined. A true friend speaks the truth when it is needed.
Next week, Korea’s presidential election will conclude. What are the future plans of the U.S. Election Monitoring Delegation?
Tan ‘We plan to remain in Korea until the main vote on June 3 and continue our monitoring activities. After that, we intend to finalize our report based on our observations and submit it to the Korean government, U.S. government, United Nations, and the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB), as well as all relevant organizations. We will ensure that the information is shared transparently so that it is accessible to every citizen. Our intent is not merely to criticize and belittle the system, but to provide a foundation for the international community to understand the problems with Korea’s elections and to take appropriate action.’
We aim to support Korean voters in securing a more trustworthy electoral system. A country that operates a transparent electoral system should be open to external monitoring. A refusal to allow monitoring only raises suspicions.