SEOUL, June 4 (Reuters) – South Korea’s National Election Commission said on Thursday it would hold an investigation after a shortage of ballot papers in local elections drew public anger, with protesters in a district of Seoul blocking ballot boxes from leaving a polling station.
Voters on Wednesday cast ballots for mayors and governors in 16 major cities and provinces in a contest widely seen as a report card on President Lee Jae Myung’s administration and a test of whether conservatives could regroup after the fallout from former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed 2024 martial law bid.
Ballot papers ran out at more than a dozen polling stations amid higher-than-expected turnout, according to media reports. The shortages forced some voters to wait hours or leave without casting ballots, with voting extended at affected sites.
President Lee on Thursday expressed “deep regret” over the ballot paper shortages, saying authorities must ensure citizens’ voting rights are never undermined, and ordered that those responsible be held to account.
At a polling station in Seoul’s Songpa area, crowds gathered from Wednesday evening after residents in the traditionally conservative stronghold began complaining that they had been unable to cast a vote.
Yoomi Lee, a resident in Songpa, said the polling station had run out of ballot papers when she arrived on Wednesday afternoon. She had to wait for close to three hours before 50 sheets arrived.
“There were hundreds of people waiting,” said Lee, describing residents as “very, very angry.”
On Thursday morning, protesters identifying themselves as far-right supporters attempted to stop an election official from leaving the polling station as they held banners that carried phrases such as “rigged election.”
Some residents are demanding a full revote for the district, insisting that ballot boxes must not be opened or counted until everyone who held a waiting ticket has been able to vote.
The NEC has apologised and said it would conduct a full investigation, but said the incidents did not constitute grounds for delaying the election or holding a rerun.
The conservative opposition People Power Party co-campaign chief Song Eon-seog called the shortages a serious breach of voting rights, citing incidents in Seoul, Incheon and Hwaseong in Gyeonggi Province.
Jo Seoung-lae, Secretary-General of the ruling Democratic Party, pledged to hold the NEC “accountable for its shoddy election management.”
Han Seo Jeong, 70, another Songpa resident, said she was unable to vote after arriving at a polling station around 5 p.m. (0800 GMT) and being told to wait because ballot papers had run out.
“I was told to wait 30 minutes, but they never came, and I ended up going home without voting,” she said. “I was so frustrated — this shouldn’t happen in this day and age.”
The NEC declined further comment on individual cases, referring to its previous apology.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh, Daewoung Kim and Yena ParkWriting by Kyu-Seok ShimEditing by Ed Davies)
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