Protests over ballot shortages disrupt counting in Seoul after June 3 local election

A court on Tuesday issued an order to preserve evidence on ballot boxes related to the unprecedented shortage of ballot papers that disrupted voting in parts of Seoul during last week's local elections. The Seoul Eastern District Court accepted a petition filed by Kim Jung-chul, the supreme council member of the minor Reform Party, to ensure the preservation of boxes and other items related to the ballot shortage. A total of four items from the No. 2 polling station in the Jamsil 7 neighborhood, Songpa Ward, will be placed under the order, including the boxes and surveillance camera footage of the polling station, according to the court. However, the court rejected other petitions to preserve evidence, including ballot boxes that were moved to another counting center. Ballot shortages were reported at more than a dozen polling stations in Seoul during the local elections, mostly from Songpa Ward of southern Seoul, prompting a temporary suspension of voting in the local elections. Protestors have been rallying outside a vote-counting facility in Seoul for the fifth-day, demanding a rerun o

Protests over ballot shortages entered their second day Saturday, with thousands encircling a vote-counting facility in eastern Seoul and demanding a new election. By 12:35 p.m., approximately 2,000 people had gathered around SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Songpa Ward, according to police, claiming Wednesday's local elections were fraudulent. Protesters blocked entrances, trapping an estimated 20-30 officials inside. About 400 police officers were deployed to the scene. No clashes have been reported. The unrest stemmed from the shortage of ballot paper at more than a dozen polling stations across Seoul on Wednesday, including in Songpa and Gangnam, forcing temporary voting suspensions. Some voters are believed to have left without casting their ballots. Authorities managed to move the ballot boxes to the gymnasium Friday morning. Since then, protestors have surrounded the facility, preventing officials from removing the boxes or leaving the site. The same day, National Election Commission (NEC) Chairman Roh Tae-ak and NEC Secretary General Heo Cheol-hoon offered their resignations. The c

The final vote count for this week's local elections was completed Friday, two days after a shortage of ballot papers disrupted voting at over a dozen polling stations in Seoul. Election officials declared the final tally for the June 3 vote after reflecting the results from two ballot boxes that were counted belatedly due to a blockade staged by protesters alleging election fraud. Earlier in the day, police dispersed a crowd of protesters and secured the ballot boxes, containing around 2,000 ballots, at a polling station in Seoul's Songpa Ward. Friday's tally did not significantly alter the election results, including the razor-thin Seoul mayoral race. The final count showed that incumbent Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party won with 49.22 percent of the vote, defeating Chong Won-o of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea by 1.15 percentage points, or 60,259 votes. During Wednesday's elections, ballot shortages were reported at polling stations in Seoul, including in the southeastern wards of Songpa and Gangnam, prompting temporary suspensions of voting there.

Police on Friday secured remaining ballot boxes at a polling station in southern Seoul, two days after protesters gathered to prevent election officials from removing them in protest of a shortage of ballots during the June 3 local elections. Police officials broke through a crowd of protesters to remove the two ballot boxes at the polling station in Jamsil, Songpa Ward, after deploying around 1,000 officers to the scene earlier in the day to break up the rally. The boxes, said to contain around 2,000 ballots, were immediately transported for vote counting. The polling station was one of over a dozen locations in Seoul that experienced ballot shortages Wednesday, prompting the temporary suspension of voting at the affected stations. Angry protesters gathered at the Jamsil polling station, accusing the election watchdog of having committed election fraud and blocking election officials from removing the ballot boxes. The standoff had prevented the National Election Commission from completing vote counting and officially declaring election winners in the affected areas. A group of protesters

Police on Friday began dispersing protesters at a polling station in southern Seoul after hundreds gathered earlier this week to protest a shortage of ballots during the June 3 local elections, blocking election officials from removing ballot boxes. More than 10 mobile police units were deployed around the No. 2 polling station in Jamsil, Songpa Ward, at around 7:30 a.m., with reports of physical clashes. A police official notified the protesters they had been asked to cooperate in removing remaining ballot boxes at the polling station, adding those who hurt election officials or damaged election equipment or facilities could be punished under the election law. The polling station was one of over a dozen locations in Seoul that experienced ballot shortages Wednesday, prompting the temporary suspension of voting. Angry protesters gathered at the polling station, accusing the election watchdog of having committed election fraud. Two ballot boxes, containing around 2,000 ballots, are said to remain at the polling station, preventing the National Election Commission from completing vote coun

The ballot paper shortage that disrupted voting at multiple polling stations across Seoul during the June 3 local elections represents far more than a simple administrative mishap. It constitutes a serious failure of election management that undermined citizens' constitutional right to vote and dealt another blow to public confidence in the institutions responsible for safeguarding democracy. According to election authorities, 14 polling stations across Songpa, Gangnam and Gwangjin districts ran out of ballot papers during voting hours. Voters who had arrived in good faith to exercise their democratic rights were forced to wait for additional ballots to be printed and delivered. In some locations, voting continued until late at night, long after official polling hours had ended. Others reportedly abandoned the process altogether after hours of uncertainty and delay. Such a scenario should have been unthinkable in a mature democracy. Preparing an adequate number of ballot papers is one of the most basic responsibilities of any election authority. Elections are conducted not on the assum