[Civil Diplomatic Letter No.16]
6.3. Electoral Fraud Is an Act of Betrayal Against Constitutional Justice:
– There Is No Democratization Without the Substantive Guarantee of Sovereignty –
This content will be highly uncomfortable for those in power to hear. However, I submit to you the “hollowing out of the principle of constitutional supremacy and the evils of the proviso in Article 224 of the Public Official Election Act under the pretext of consequentialism,” which citizens must absolutely know as sovereigns.
Article 224 of the Public Official Election Act (Judgment, etc. on Invalidity of Election)The Election Management Committee, the Supreme Court, or a high court that has received a petition or a lawsuit shall, even if there is a fact violating the regulations on elections in an election dispute, determine or judge the invalidity of the whole or part of the election, or the invalidity of the election, only when it is recognized that it has affected the result of the election.
Ⅰ. Introduction: The Perilous Inversion of Constitutional Ideals and Subordinate Norms
Article 1, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea stipulates: “The sovereignty of the Republic of Korea shall reside in the citizens, and all authority shall emanate from the citizens.” This solemn declaration signifies that the legitimacy of all state actions must derive from the will of the citizens, who hold the ultimate sovereignty. To guarantee this, the legal system adopts the ‘Principle of Constitutional Supremacy’ as its grand premise.
This principle is not merely a technical hierarchy; it is the minimum safety mechanism of democracy designed to bind subordinate norms so that they cannot betray the essential values and ‘justice’ of the Constitution, which is the supreme norm.
Today, however, the reality of legal enforcement and legislation in our society is flowing backward, completely oblivious to this fundamental principle. Even in elections—the most sacred exercise of sovereignty—a phenomenon of bypassing constitutional justice is occurring by prioritizing the proviso clause of the Public Official Election Act: “unless it has affected the result of the election (restriction on grounds for invalidation in lawsuit procedures, etc.).”
This is a representative manifestation of the ‘hollowing out (=evisceration) of norms,’ wherein a subordinate norm subverts and practically neutralizes the spirit of the supreme norm.
This thesis excludes the shallow pragmatism of political rulers hiding behind the pretext of preventing state paralysis. Instead, it fully dissects the legal and common-sense evils caused by forgetting the principle of constitutional supremacy, and proposes a fundamental methodology to reform the reality of fraudulent elections exposed in the June 3rd local elections.
Ⅱ. The Evils: Legal Technicality Wearing the Mask of Pragmatism
- The Realism of ‘State Continuity’ Exposes the State’s Dereliction of Duty
Rulers who defend the proviso clause of the Public Official Election Act put forward ‘State Continuity’ as a justification—citing the vast scale and technical limitations of modern elections, and the need to prevent national vacuums or administrative paralysis.
This mindset is reflected first in the attitude of the judges of the courts who have served as chairpersons of each local election management committee, and subsequently in the court rulings on election lawsuits. Furthermore, it is glaringly evident in the identical behavior displayed by both ruling and opposition politicians this time as well. Since when did these rival factions, who constantly pursue ‘legal stability’ to avoid administrative paralysis, ever seek unified politics for the sake of the nation and the people?
It is merely a ruined, collusive excuse of political compromise—acting like a ‘second company’ destined for national destruction—claiming that it serves the community’s interest to quickly finalize even a ‘less-than-perfect elected official’ rather than allowing the status of the winner to remain unstable for a long period due to indiscriminate lawsuits from the defeated camp.
However, this logic paradoxically confesses the state’s fatal lack of capability and its utter dereliction of duty. To claim that an election cannot be invalidated despite the existence of deficiencies, negligence, or illegality in election management under the pretext of ‘national confusion’ is equivalent to the state confessing: “We do not have the ability to execute the law perfectly, and we will not take responsibility for it.” Consequently, this has normalized a badge of immunity for election management bodies and political rulers, sending a dangerous message: “As long as you do not create a fatal margin of votes in the final result, sloppy management or even slight strategic trickery is acceptable.”
Yet, there lies a much greater contradiction within our Republic of Korea—a profoundly critical and severe issue that most citizens are unaware of, and which all knowledgeable politicians are intentionally ignoring.
- The Self-Serving Delusion Driven Solely by the Monomania of Communization Operations for the ‘Great Task’
The ‘Great Task’ is a term emphasized by Moon Jae-in even after completing his five-year presidency, sharing his unfulfilled, insatiable ambitions with party members at a Democratic Party event.
For all living things in the universe, satisfying basic biological and reproductive desires is the highest priority. For human beings as well, regarding the priority value between ‘eating’ and ‘democracy,’ securing food is the ultimate prerequisite across all eras, regions, genders, ages, and social statuses.
Unless liberated from the immediate struggle of ‘eating,’ freedom, democracy, and other pleasures of satisfying the five senses must naturally take a back seat. Only when hunger is solved do people find the room to seek liberty, democracy, and dignity.
Looking back at the reality of our society after the devastating Korean War when everyone was starving, we realize through life experience that economic prosperity is not achieved effortlessly just by drifting along.
In those days, when disabled veterans from the battlefield were everywhere and orphans were common, the survival of extremely impoverished citizens depended entirely on grass porridge and begging. What could possibly have been more urgent than solving that hunger?
To alleviate this pain of the people, several leaders stepped forward to drive economic development, including President Park Chung-hee. It was a country that lacked the capital to ignite economic growth, with a barren land devoid of resources and entirely lacking seed money. Under such conditions, through sleepless agony and running hither and thither, citizens sacrificed themselves abroad to send remittances to support their families, thereby building this nation. Yet, the current generation of this country brands such a leader as a ‘dictator’ and disparages him.
Parents who educated their precious children with a rod were also dictators; harsh training in the military and sports teams was also seen as dictatorship. Looking at it this way, aren’t all sons and daughters of Korea the children of dictators?
If we transform into a communist-socialist state—a ruin accomplished through the biased education of the Teachers’ Union (KTU) and political strikes by labor unions—will ‘dictatorship’ finally be eradicated from our lives? This is precisely why they are called ‘ignorant masses’ (Meong-min).
Trapped in the ideological frame of a foolish puppet regime that labels only the great leader who rescued them from starvation as a dictator, these ignorant masses do not even realize they are the sovereigns, nor do they know how to exercise that sovereignty. This is the staggering reality of the Republic of Korea today. Is this why a loyal dog that knows how to maintain absolute fidelity is more endearing than such foolish human beings?
It is pathetic to witness the irony of the so-called ‘democratization generation’—the very ones who claim to have abolished guilt by association in this country—continuing to historically ostracize his daughter to this day, branding her openly as the ‘daughter of a dictator.‘
The constitutional organs of the state took the lead in unlawfully ousting President Park Geun-hye from power—which itself is proof that numerous spies have infiltrated the core of the nation, though the public fails to perceive it. Following this, an anti-constitutional, illegal regime was established, and for nine years now, they have been deceiving the citizens and enforcing an unauthorized, arbitrary rule.
Regarding this gravely distorted phenomenon, not a single legal intellectual in this country speaks out; the illegality is distorted through silence. The moral conscience and constitutional order of our society are profoundly unjust. One cannot help but seriously ask: Since when did our society become one that discards conscience? What are we teaching future generations? It is the life of the ignorant masses living in a truly strange country.
- The Judicial Outpost of Constitutional Subversion: The Vicious Cycle of Judicial Compromise that Destroyed Procedural Justice
Tracing the acts of constitutional betrayal entwined with fraudulent elections brings us face-to-face with a chronic disease in our judicial history: its capitulation to ‘realism’ and ‘political compromise,’ discarding the values of supreme law and procedural justice. Just as a polluted source inevitably yields dirty water (Won-tak-ryu-o, 源濁流汚), illegitimate power and unlawful governance are merely the ‘poisonous fruits of a poisonous tree’ (Doxu-dokgwa, 毒樹毒果) grown in the forest where the judiciary itself turned a blind eye to procedural legitimacy.
We have already witnessed the horrific sequence of events through the illegal impeachment crisis that violated the constitutional order. The most fatal fuse that destroyed the supreme law was the past impeachment trial of President Park Geun-hye.
At that time, the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court ignored the strict principle of trial based on evidence. They exposed severe procedural defects, such as neglecting the composition of a full bench and rushing to a decision under a compromised 8-justice system. Even faced with the grave matter of dismissing the head of state, instead of safeguarding the constitutional values of the supreme norm, they prioritized the political pragmatism of settling the situation. In doing so, they committed unprecedented procedural illegalities and critical legal errors that shattered the general principles of law.
This massive chain of illegality, perpetrated solely for the outcome of ‘regime ouster’ while forfeiting the righteousness of the process, gave birth to a void-ab-initio power structure that extended through the Moon Jae-in administration to Moon, Yoon Seok-yeol, and Lee Jae-myung. Ultimately, it opened the gateway for nine years of unauthorized, arbitrary rule.
The price paid for ignoring judicial justice and leaving a dangerous precedent that “outcomes justify procedurally illegal means” is catastrophic. Today, the Election Management Committee and the courts confidently wield an arrogant legal technicalism, abusing the proviso clause of the Public Official Election Act to assert: “If it did not affect the election result, corruption in the process may be condoned.” Consequently, past judicial compromises have returned as poison, leading to a massive, insurrectional evil of constitutional subversion that retroactively judges and neutralizes the votes of the sovereign citizens.
Myeong-bu-jeong-eon-bul-sun (名不正言不順)—if the pretext is not upright, the speech will not align with reason, and ultimately, the ‘Great Task’ of the regime cannot be achieved. It is a natural consequence that illegal acts perpetrated under an unlawful regime established without national legitimacy and constitutional justification are bound to be used as tools of unauthorized rule.
A ruler whose source of power is defiled can never find the path to the hearts of the people. “The net of heaven is vast; its mesh is wide, but it lets nothing slip” (Cheon-mang-hoe-hoe so-i-bul-ru, 天網恢恢 疏而不漏). No matter how high the arrogance of the rulers and legal technicians who mocked the Constitution may pierce the sky, the solemn legal net cast by history and the sovereigns will never let them escape.
- Legal Evil: The Destruction of Systemic Legitimacy and the Unjust Shifting of the Burden of Proof
Under this illegal regime, we recently witnessed a shocking catastrophe that should never have occurred in the electoral history of the Republic of Korea. It was revealed that in 67 voting stations nationwide, citizens could not exercise their normal right to vote because there were no ballots.
In response, the Election Management Committee offered typical sophistry and excuses, claiming it was a “temporary distribution mistake in some areas” or that “a few thousand votes have zero impact on the overall election results or the winners.“
The exclusion of the ‘Principle of Constitutional Supremacy’ is entirely responsible for driving these contradictions in our society. To evade the resistance that would arise from a constitutional amendment process, they created anti-constitutional and anti-supreme law regulations through subordinate laws that eviscerate (=empty) the Constitution.
They used these laws as tools to oust an innocent president and orchestrate various methods of national ruin. Yet, our society is already deeply rotten and diseased, lacking jurists who point this out.
Therefore, we must now expose and propagate the factual reality of this horrific constitutional crisis facing the Republic of Korea to all humanity and the international community to break this internal silence. Currently, the Republic of Korea is facing a critical danger, on the very brink of falling under a highly sophisticated, unconventional non-linear warfare driven by North Korea’s communization operations and the anti-human rights engineering of a disguised regime.
If the internal populace, blocked by distorted education and media control, fails to recognize this lawless reality, the conscientious exposure of the international community, including the United Nations (UN), and the righteous condemnation of the global media will serve as the sole spark to awaken the sleeping sovereigns of this land. The international media turning this disastrous erosion of the rule of law into news and publicizing it is the most certain and healthy alternative to expose the deception of the disguised regime and swiftly cure the Republic of Korea—indeed, it is the only peaceful and wholesome alternative to rescue our nation.
When the principle of constitutional supremacy is ignored and the proviso clauses of subordinate laws are prioritized, the legal system suffers severe distortion. If the Constitution is the qualitative goal, subordinate legislation must be the means to safely realize that goal.
However, the current abuse of the proviso clause takes for granted a “legal contradiction where the means (Public Official Election Act) inverts the end (Article 1 of the Constitution: Popular Sovereignty),” thereby destroying the legitimacy of the legal system. Although the political expression and participation of citizens are inherently intended to influence election results, attaching the condition “unless it has affected the result” excessively restricts freedom of expression and fundamental political rights.
An even more serious legal distortion occurs in the ‘Unjust Shifting of the Burden of Proof.’ If a clear illegality occurred during the election process, the state and the elected official ought to prove the legitimacy of that election.
Yet, current judicial logic places an almost impossible burden on the sovereign citizens and plaintiffs, demanding: “Prove what mathematical and statistical impact that illegality had on the final result.” This allows the judiciary to retroactively judge the sovereign’s vote at its subjective discretion, legally isolating the sovereign to an extreme degree.
- Common-Sense Evil: The Endorsement of ‘Consequentialism’ and Legal Cynicism
Law must be based on the common sense and general legal sentiments of a universal community, but the shallow legal interpretations of rulers severely contaminate the citizenry’s sense of justice. In sports, if a clear foul is detected, it is common sense that the offending team suffers a forfeit, regardless of the score gap or the match outcome.
Declaring in an election that decides the nation’s destiny that “there were serious fouls and negligence in the process, but the vote gap is wide, so it is valid” is equivalent to the state endorsing moral insensitivity and ‘consequentialism’—the notion that “the end justifies the means.“
Here, the ‘Legal Impunity’ of rulers is reinforced. Ordinary citizens face immediate punishment and disadvantage for violating even the smallest duties to uphold the law (traffic regulations, taxes, etc.).
Conversely, rulers holding power commit negligence and illegalities that shake constitutional values, yet preserve their positions by hiding behind the grand pretext of ‘social stability.’ This extreme injustice breeds a deep cynicism toward the law among citizens, causing a resignation that goes beyond “innocent if rich, guilty if poor” to “innocent if powerful, guilty if powerless” (Yu-gwon-mu-joe, Mu-gwon-yu-joe).
Ⅲ. Methodology for Improvement
- Judgment and Disposition Regarding Post-Election Processing
① Normative Judgment on Conducting a “Re-election“
Shift from ‘Consequentialism’ to ‘Proceduralism’: The existing judiciary judged whether to hold a re-election based on whether the illegal act involved a sufficient margin of votes to alter the winner (quantitative evaluation). However, once election fraud is uncovered, the democratic legitimacy of that election is already extinguished.
Redefining the Criteria for Re-election: The standard must be based not on the mere ‘scale’ or ‘number’ of illegalities, but on whether ‘the free formation of the voters’ will and the secrecy and fairness of voting’—which the state must guarantee—were essentially violated (qualitative evaluation). Entrusting local administrative authority and tax collection rights to someone elected through a corrupt process flatly contradicts Article 1 of the Constitution. Therefore, regions where major procedural illegalities are exposed must immediately be declared invalid, and a re-election must be held.
② Severe Disposition of Perpetrators and Related Agencies
Criminal Punishment Harsher Than General Crimes: Election illegalities must be treated as insurrectional crimes that shake the foundations of the state. Those involved (conspiring candidates, illegal actors) must face arrest and investigation without privileges of non-detention, and the maximum legal penalty must be applied.
Dismissal of Internal Leaders of the Election Management Committee and Personnel Overhaul: Inside the Election Management Committee, leaders exposed for negligent management or condonation must be ‘dismissed’ rather than facing simple disciplinary action or demotion, and strict criminal liability for dereliction of duty must be enforced.
Indemnity Claims for Re-election Costs: The enormous costs of a re-election resulting from fraud must be charged as a joint and several debt to the candidates, political parties, and intentionally or grossly negligent election management officials who committed the foul. A strict precedent of “the price of injustice is bankruptcy” must be established to restore the discipline of the rule of law.
- Systemic Directions for Improvement (Election Management Committee, Voting and Counting Procedures)
① Restructuring of the Main Election Management Body: Overhaul at the Level of Dissolution and Multilateral Mutual Checks
The current Election Management Committee claims to be an independent constitutional organ, but it has invited controversies over negligence and fraud due to its centralized power structure, internal nepotism, and a personnel composition that watches the political winds. To realize constitutional justice, the management of public elections must be completely restructured into the following format:
Reorganization into a Transcendent ‘Independent Election Purification Committee (Tentative Name)’: The election management body will undergo a complete overhaul of its personnel. The nomination rights of political circles (President, National Assembly) will be entirely excluded when composing the committee. Instead, members will be selected through strict qualification screening from politically neutral expert groups, such as the judiciary (General Meeting of Supreme Court Justices), academia, and the Korean Bar Association, thereby securing flawless independence transcendent of political power.
Strengthening Legal Control Centered on the Judiciary (Courts): While the independent committee handles the practical administration of elections (installing voting stations, administrative support), the exclusive authority to monitor election disputes and illegalities on a permanent basis will be completely transferred to the judiciary (specialized election benches of courts at all levels). A ‘permanent judicial control system’ will be established so that if even a single sign of procedural illegality is captured during the election process, the court can immediately halt the election administration or issue a corrective order.
Institutionalization of a ‘Permanent Citizens’ Election Audit Committee’ and Strengthening Invalidation Rights: An independent audit body led by civil society and academia will be established permanently to audit the entire process in real-time, from election preparation to election-day ballot counting, with the authority to mandate the inspection of administrative records. In short, a triangular mutual check mechanism will be finalized: [Practical Management: Independent Committee] — [Legal Control: Judiciary] — [Real-time Audit: Civil Society].
② Restoring Analog Justice in Voting and Counting Procedures (Enhancing Transparency)
Thorough Re-examination and Reduction of the Early Voting System: The early voting period—a hotbed of election fraud controversies and a blind spot for management—must be significantly reduced. Furthermore, the entire transport and storage process of early ballot boxes must be legislated for 24-hour real-time live broadcasting by civilian observers (via public internet channels, not closed CCTV networks) to fundamentally block mistrust.
Legislating the Principle of Hand Counting (Su-gae-pyo): Electronic equipment, such as ballot sorters, must be strictly limited to ‘simple auxiliary tools.’ A ‘100% manual hand count,’ where humans inspect with their own eyes and count with their own hands, must be mandated as the primary counting procedure. This is because accuracy and transparent trust (ideal) are far superior values than administrative speed and efficiency (reality).
Strengthening Ballot Security: A blockchain-based serial number verification system, special ink, or watermark technology that makes counterfeiting impossible must be mandatorily introduced to ballot papers. This modernizes the physical framework so that even a single counterfeit or externally injected ballot paper can be detected immediately during post-election verification.
- Fundamental Directions for Amending the Public Official Election Act
① Comprehensive Amendment or Deletion of Proviso Clauses (Article 224, etc.)
Direction of Amendment: The current phrase “unless it has affected the result of the election” must be completely revised to “unless there is a major procedural illegality that harms the fairness of the election.”
Effect: Regardless of whether the margin of votes is large or small, if an election loses democratic legitimacy in its process, the judiciary’s legal arbitrariness and discretionary power can be strictly limited, preventing them from ‘turning a blind eye’ under the guise of realism.
② Establishing a Provision for Shifting the Burden of Proof
To overturn the existing unreasonable judicial precedents that required voters or plaintiffs (citizens) to mathematically and scientifically prove ‘the specific impact of an illegality on the final result’ in an election invalidation lawsuit, an explicit provision must be anchored in the law.
A ‘Burden of Proof Shifting Clause’ must be newly created, stating: “If a clear procedural illegality is uncovered during the election process, the burden of proof that the election was conducted fairly and that there are no anomalies in the result lies with the Election Management Committee and the elected official.” This corrects the anti-constitutional distortion of legal principles that alienated the sovereign citizens and turned them into losers.
- Reflecting Improvements in the Theory of Substantive Popular Sovereignty
The French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau once sharply criticized the limitations of the ‘formal and periodic exercise of sovereignty’ inherent in representative systems and elections, stating: “The English people believe they are free; they are much mistaken; they are so only during the election of members of Parliament; as soon as these are elected, the people are slaves.” Stamping a piece of paper at a polling station once every few years is insufficient to overcome the limitations within election laws regarding Article 1 of the Constitution: “All authority shall emanate from the citizens.”
Therefore, going beyond the formal exercise of sovereignty via voting, systemic and practical measures are required to reflect the ‘Theory of Substantive Popular Sovereignty,’ enabling citizens to constantly control power and participate in policy.
① Full Introduction of ‘Elements of Direct Democracy’ for Permanent Control of Power
Substantive systems must be supplemented in the Constitution and laws so that citizens can recall or control power even after delegating it through elections.
Expansion of the Citizen Recall System: When elected officials in office (members of the National Assembly, heads of local governments, etc.) act against the will of the people or commit corruption and misrule, voters must be guaranteed the constitutional right to recall and strip them of their office directly without waiting for the next election. This is the most powerful substantive control mechanism that forces rulers to constantly mind the sovereigns throughout their terms.
Citizen Initiative and Referendum Systems: Important national policies or bills must not remain the exclusive property of rulers. A structure must be activated where, if a certain number of citizens agree, they can directly initiate a bill to be tabled in the National Assembly or finalize national disputes through a referendum.
② Combining Deliberative Democracy with Digital Public Forums
Going beyond simple majority rule (formalism), the exercise of sovereignty must become a daily routine where citizens derive rational alternatives through sufficient information and discussion.
Legislation of a Citizens’ Assembly: A citizens’ assembly composed of randomly sampled citizens (sortition system) will be established to deliberate directly and issue policy recommendations on difficult problems that politicians cannot solve due to partisan interests, such as pension reform or electoral district revision.
Blockchain-Based Digital Direct Participation System: Utilizing modern, highly advanced IT technology, a highly reliable digital public forum will be constructed where citizens can constantly express their will on major national issues, and the voting results are substantively reflected in policy.
③ Substantive Reform of Election and Party Structures
For voting to become a substantive expression of sovereignty, a party and election ecosystem must be provided where the voters’ intentions are reflected without distortion.
Full Implementation of the Mixed-Member Proportional Representation System: The current system—where two major parties monopolize the public will and distort the voters’ intentions through tricks like satellite parties—must be dismantled. The electoral system must be completely reformed so that parliamentary seats are allocated exactly according to the percentage of votes cast by the citizens, thereby substantively securing the ‘Value of Vote’ (proportional equivalence).
Establishment of Intra-Party Democracy: The structure where party leaders or factions control the nomination of candidates must be abolished. Implementing systems like a ‘completely open primary’—where local residents and party members directly select candidates—must be mandated, ensuring that popular sovereignty operates right from the stage of selecting public candidates.
Ⅳ. Conclusion: A Return to Constitutional Justice and Procedural Justice
The proviso clause in the Public Official Election Act and the behavior of rulers surrounding it represent the pinnacle of a ‘shallow logical approach’—hiding behind the minor phrasing of subordinate laws and administrative convenience because they fear facing constitutional ideals and justice directly.
Ultimately, restoring analog justice in the election management system and abolishing the proviso clause of the Public Official Election Act is merely the ‘minimum defensive line’ to recover the basic physical strength of a collapsed democracy. The realization of true popular sovereignty does not mean trapping citizens within a formal right to exercise their vote every few years. It is completed by constitutionally restoring substantive participation mechanisms, such as the ‘Citizen Recall System’ to constantly recall power during a term, the ‘Citizen Initiative System’ to directly enact laws, and a ‘Fully Proportional Electoral System’ to capture the public will without distortion.
The Constitution must not be an auxiliary, decorative text tailored casually when interpreting subordinate laws. It must be the solemn starting point and final destination that controls all actions of state authority and grants them legitimacy.
Therefore, to secure constitutional legitimacy, the proviso clause must be essentially amended to separate simple administrative mistakes from structural fraud, and a judicial framework must be established to prevent vexatious lawsuits alongside the shifting of the burden of proof. Furthermore, through analog systemic reforms—such as abolishing early voting and implementing on-site ballot counting at polling stations—and restructuring into an independent management body completely transcendent of political power, supported by a triangular check system of the judiciary and civil society, the entire process of exercising sovereignty must be transparently revolutionized.
Only a solemn judicial and legislative reflection—unambiguously restoring the principle of constitutional supremacy and absolutely prioritizing the sovereign spirit of Article 1 of the Constitution over the subordinate proviso clauses of legislation—is the sole path to uprighting the hollowed-out rule of law in the Republic of Korea and preserving the purity of popular sovereignty.
Accordingly, this Association for the Defense of the Constitution will move beyond domestic struggles to deliver a solemn appeal to the international community, including the United Nations General Assembly, and the conscience of all humanity. The international community must no longer be exploited or deceived by the anti-human rights and anti-constitutional acts of governance engineered by this disguised regime. A rule of law that has collapsed from within can only find its path to healing through powerful external invocation and exposure. We strongly urge journalists worldwide and conscientious international organizations to join the ranks in condemning this lawless reality.
Rulers must immediately cease their legal-technical dominance—venerating the citizens as sovereigns only on election day, yet ruling over them once the election concludes. For our society to approach the true justice enshrined in the Constitution, we must boldly cast aside the technical sophistry that tolerates opacity and illegality in the process. Before calculating the ‘impact on the election result,’ if procedural justice collapsed in the process, the confidence and democratic legitimacy of that power are already lost.
Remember: a sleeping sovereign walks the path to slavery, and a silent rule of law becomes the silk road to dictatorship. The collective will of the people can float a ship, but it can also overturn it (Jae-ju-bop-ju, 載舟覆舟). No matter how much rulers attempt to dominate by hiding behind a shallow shield of legal stability, the solemn will of an awakened sovereign populace will overturn that vessel of corrupt power in a single stroke.
Rulers must no longer violate sovereignty by hiding behind the shallow shield of reality. Cheon-mang-hoe-hoe so-i-bul-ru (天網恢恢 疏而不漏)—no matter how high the arrogance of the legal technicians who mocked the Constitution may pierce the sky, the solemn net cast by history and the sovereigns will never let them escape. A power that turned a blind eye to injustice in the process will ultimately face its destiny of being overturned from below.
June 11, 2026
Constitutional Guardians Alliance (CGA)
of the Republic of Korea
Representative Park Sang-gu
Institute for National Prosperity and Power (INPP)
Director Kim Dae-heung
Presented by the ROK Civil Diplomacy Intellectuals Solidarity for the Defense of Liberal Democracy and Constitutional Order