President Lee Jae-myung delivers a briefing on the results of his Europe and G7 tour at the Chunchugwan press hall of the Blue House on the 19th. / June 19, 2026. Blue House Press Corps
President Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday signaled the possibility of a one-point constitutional amendment, taking direct aim at the closed operating structure of the National Election Commission (NEC) amid controversy over its flawed election management.
With the Democratic Party of Korea having already presented a first-stage reform plan that includes making the NEC chairmanship a standing position and establishing an independent audit body, along with a second-stage constitutional amendment plan to allow oversight by the Board of Audit and Inspection, the president’s public mention of the need for an amendment is expected to accelerate the ruling bloc’s NEC reform efforts.
During a briefing at the Chunchugwan press hall in the afternoon on the results of his trip to Europe and the Group of Seven (G7) summit, Lee said regarding NEC reform, “How can it be acceptable for the Supreme Court chief justice to effectively appoint (the NEC chairman) in such a manner?” He pointed out, “Neither the government, nor the National Assembly, nor the public effectively has the authority to monitor or check the NEC.”
The NEC is defined as an independent institution under the constitution, leaving the government and the National Assembly without direct authority to control it. Its members are nominated three each by the government, the National Assembly, and the Supreme Court, but the selection of the chairman has by convention been effectively carried out through internal agreement.
The point Lee took issue with was this “internal circular decision-making structure.” He noted the limits of institutional improvement, saying, “Because the constitution clearly defines the NEC as an independent institution, creating monitoring and control mechanisms by law could raise concerns of unconstitutionality.” He added, “If the ruling and opposition parties reach agreement, we should at least carry out a one-point constitutional amendment regarding the NEC,” and said, “If necessary, the option of the president directly initiating it could also be considered.”
With the president going so far as to mention an amendment, the NEC reform plan the Democratic Party is pursuing is expected to gain momentum. Following the ballot shortage incident in the June 3 local elections, the Democratic Party has been pursuing NEC reform through a two-stage strategy of “legislation first, amendment as a supplement.”
The core of the first-stage reform includes making the NEC chairmanship a standing position, expanding the number of standing members, and establishing an independent audit body. Strengthening external control mechanisms, by contrast, is classified as a second-stage task requiring constitutional amendment. The reasoning is that measures to strengthen external checks, such as allowing the Board of Audit and Inspection to conduct job-performance audits, could conflict with the status of the NEC as a constitutionally independent institution, making legislative revision alone insufficient.
The Constitutional Court has also issued a ruling to the effect that the NEC is not subject to the Board of Audit and Inspection’s job-performance audits, so the matter has effectively been classified as belonging to the realm of constitutional amendment. The Democratic Party has likewise included this in its second-stage amendment plan, setting it as a mid- to long-term task.
However, pursuing an amendment carries the political precondition of agreement between the ruling and opposition parties. Passing an amendment requires the consent of at least two-thirds of the total members of the National Assembly, making it difficult to achieve without opposition cooperation. As both ruling and opposition parties share to some extent the view that improving NEC operations is necessary, coordination over the scope and timing of an amendment is expected to become a key issue in the course of future parliamentary investigations and legislative discussions.