President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol's top aide slammed the election watchdog's assessment that it would be impossible to hold a referendum on a set of disputed bills aimed at stripping the prosecution of its investigative power.
Yoon's chief of staff Chang Je-won on Thursday accused the National Election Commission(NEC) of overstepping its authority, taking particular exception with NEC officials commenting on the matter despite the fact that the issue has not been formally addressed.
Chang, who on the previous day suggested the referendum take place during the June 1 local elections, added that he had not yet briefed the president-elect.
The NEC said it would be impossible to hold the referendum after the Constitutional Court found a clause that banned participation by overseas Koreans to be unconstitutional in 2014.
Without a legal revision, the clause became ineffective in January 2016, rendering it impossible to draw up a list of voters for a referendum.
Ruling Democratic Party(DP) floor leader Yun Ho-jung on Thursday criticized Chang's proposal, accusing the president-elect and his transition team of protecting the prosecution's interests at any cost.