South Korea Local Elections: Opposition Demands Halt to Vote Counting Over Ballot Paper Shortage

(CNA correspondent Yang Qifang, Seoul, 3rd) South Korea's local elections on Thursday saw a controversy erupt as 14 polling stations in Seoul ran out of ballot papers, leaving some voters unable to cast their ballots even as vote counting had begun. The opposition People Power Party (PPP) demanded an immediate halt to the counting, while the ruling Democratic Party (DP) argued there was no need to stop.

The voting period for the local elections was originally from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, after which counting began and exit poll results were released as usual. However, a shortage of ballot papers occurred at 14 polling stations in Seoul, including 12 in Songpa District, and one each in Gangnam District and Gwangjin District. Voting was not completed until late at night, sparking major controversy.

According to Yonhap News Agency, PPP leader Jang Dong-hyuk stated, "The Seoul city election has already been contaminated. A contaminated election is invalid." He emphasized that vote counting should be stopped immediately until the truth is uncovered, and that the Seoul election must be re-held based on the investigation results.

Jang pointed out that some voters may have given up waiting for ballots, while others may have decided not to go to polling stations after seeing news of the shortage and long waits. "This Seoul city election has seriously infringed on voters' right to vote and their right to political participation," he said.

Jo Seung-rae, head of the ruling DP's general countermeasures headquarters, expressed deep regret over the National Election Commission's (NEC) negligence in ballot management. "This is not a problem that can be solved with an apology. Those responsible for the negligent election management must be held accountable," he said.

However, Jo also stressed that many Seoul citizens had already voted, and that ballots had been transferred to counting stations according to procedure. "There is no need to stop the vote counting," he asserted.

At the 2nd polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, which had not declared voting closed by 11 p.m., more than 100 people gathered to protest. Some called for preventing ballot boxes from being transported, and the scene even saw verbal altercations. The NEC requested police assistance to transport the ballot boxes.

The NEC earlier announced that it would hold an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures for the ballot paper shortage incident. (Editor: Chen Huiping) 115/06/03