“The South Korean voting system lacks procedural transparency. Despite continuous public doubts, the government and the National Election Commission (NEC) have maintained a closed stance, undermining institutional trust. Change is now necessary,” the U.S. Election Monitoring Delegation stressed upon their visit to South Korea on May 25.
This private group, formed to oversee South Korea’s 21st presidential election, includes experts such as Morse Tan, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice; John Mills, former Director of Cybersecurity Policy at the Department of Defense; Grant Newsham, former Marine Corps strategic officer; and Bradley Thayer, a political science Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Their mission is to directly observe the election, verify procedural fairness, and report their findings to the international community.
As early voting took place over two days starting April 29, election-related controversies persisted. On the first day, ballots were removed from a polling site in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, and a contract employee was caught voting using her husband’s ID in Gangnam-gu. In Bucheon and Gimpo, ballots from the 22nd general election were found, raising concerns over NEC’s management. Jang Dong-hyeok, spokesperson for the People Power Party’s election committee, on May 30 claimed discrepancies between NEC’s announced early voter count and actual votes cast.
In an interview with ChosunBiz on May 31, the U.S. delegation criticized South Korea’s closed election system and called for urgent improvements to guarantee procedural transparency. Despite numerous doubts about the election process, little reform has been made, causing public trust in the system to fall sharply.
Please introduce your election monitoring delegation. When was it formed and and why did you choose to visit South Korea?
Morse Tan (Tan): “The international election monitoring delegation began discussions in late 2024 and started forming as a private civic group by late March this year. We came to South Korea to support its democracy. As a key U.S. ally and a strategic hotspot for Chinese and North Korean information warfare, any damage to Korean democracy could ripple across Asia and the broader international order. That’s why the international community must pay closer attention to Korea’s election system. Issues like Chinese Communist Party interference and declining trust in elections also affect the U.S., so closer monitoring is needed.”
Grant Newsham (Newsham): “I conducted a very detailed examination of South Korea’s 2020 general election. At first, I didn’t expect to find any problems. But as I investigated, I discovered significant irregular patterns in the election process.
I encountered serious cases such as statistically impossible vote counts, discrepancies in mail-in ballot delivery records, and votes cast at impossible speeds. Based on these findings, I continued monitoring the 2022 presidential election and the 2024 general election. I felt it was time for change, which is why I came to South Korea."
What activities have you done since arriving in Korea? Did you have any contact with the NEC?
Newsham: “We arrived in Seoul about a week before early voting began and started activities immediately. We visited early voting sites, held interviews with civic groups and media, and joined rallies. I spoke with U.S. outlets like CBS and Newsmax, as well as Korean media and YouTube channels. We also connected with local groups involved in election monitoring.
We’ve tried multiple times to reach out to the National Election Commission, but they refused. Despite our clear commitment to act transparently under international standards, they are unwilling to open up and be transparent. The fact that the NEC is blocking and trying to keep us from observing is a huge red flag.”
As an expert, how would you evaluate Korea’s electoral system? What are some institutional flaws you’ve noticed?
Bradley Thayer (Thayer): “I’d give Korea’s electoral system a 3 or 4 out of 10. It’s better than North Korea or Zimbabwe, but far too low for a system that wants to be trusted in a democratic society. Compared to the UN’s international election standards, Korea’s system contains too many possibilities for manipulation. In Taiwan, which has an excellent system, the process is extremely simple and clear. Voting is completed in one day, people go in person to vote, and the ballots are counted manually.
In contrast, Korea has complex procedures like overseas voting and early voting, and the electronic counting system is susceptible to hacking. Additionally, there are frequent cases where citizens engaged in legitimate monitoring are arrested by police or reported by the election commission. That infringes on the right to election observation and is a serious deviation from international standards."
There was a lot of controversy during the recent early voting. Did you observe any problems during monitoring?
John Mills (Mills): “We witnessed many cases where transparency and verifiability were not maintained. Citizens monitoring the election physically counted the number of voters at over 3,500 early voting stations nationwide, and found many discrepancies between the numbers they counted and the numbers reported by the election commission. There were reports of ballots pre-marked for specific candidates and even cases of ballots for other candidates being shredded.
In some cases, ballots were taken outside the voting station to restaurants, and identity verification of voters was lax. For example, biometric authentication was just for show, and people were allowed to vote using student IDs—enabling even foreign students to vote.
Considering the recent SKT hacking incident, which led to a massive leak of personal data affecting more than half the population, it’s questionable whether the election commission is fulfilling its duties properly."
Some claim that U.S. monitoring groups intervening in Korea’s elections amounts to foreign interference. What’s your response to that?
Newsham: “We’re not the U.S. government right now. We’re civilians. We are not trying to destroy Korean democracy. We’re trying to support Korean democracy. According to international election law, the activities of external monitoring groups are fully legitimate, and both the UN and other international organizations encourage them.
In fact, we are actually trying to call out real interference by the Chinese communist Party in North Korea. They’re the ones who are actually interfering. If anyone truly cares about Korean democracy, they shouldn’t remain silent while election systems and monitoring mechanisms are being undermined. A true friend tells the truth when it’s needed."
Korea’s presidential election will wrap up next week. What are the IEMT’s plans going forward?
Tan: “We will remain in Korea and continue our monitoring activities until the main vote on June 3. Afterward, we will compile a report based on our observations and submit it to the Korean government, the U.S. government, the UN, and the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB), among others. Unlike the NEC, we want to be transparent with our findings and let anyone see it. Our intention is not to merely criticize or disparage the system. Instead, we want to help the international community understand the issues in Korea’s elections and enable an appropriate response.
Our goal is to support Korean voters in securing a more trustworthy electoral system. A country with a transparent electoral process should be open to external observation. It’s the refusal of such oversight that actually raises suspicion."
