South Korea Local Elections: Ballot Shortages at 67 Stations Nationwide; Election Commission Chief Resigns

(CNA, Seoul, 5th) Noh Tae-ak, Chairman of South Korea's National Election Commission (NEC), apologized and resigned today over ballot shortages during the local elections. The NEC added that a total of 67 polling stations nationwide received additional ballot deliveries on election day, and voting was temporarily suspended at 22 stations due to a lack of ballots.

During the June 3 local elections, ballot shortages occurred at multiple polling stations. The NEC initially reported that 14 stations in Seoul lacked ballots. Citizens, expressing discontent, protested at the 2nd polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Seoul. Police only broke through the blockade this morning to transport the ballot boxes and complete the final count. The People Power Party's Oh Se-hoon was officially re-elected as Seoul Mayor.

According to Yonhap News, Noh Tae-ak stated in a speech today, "I deeply feel responsibility for everything and will resign from the position of Chairman of the National Election Commission." Noh also noted that NEC Secretary General Heo Cheol-heon, as the head of the secretariat, has also expressed his intention to take responsibility and resign.

Noh emphasized, "I will faithfully cooperate with all procedures, including parliamentary investigations. If there are areas where I am responsible based on the results, I will not avoid them." The NEC plans to establish a fact-finding committee composed entirely of external experts to clarify the cause of the incident and formulate measures to prevent recurrence.

Yoon Jae-soo, head of the Election Policy Office, explained today that on the official voting day for the local elections, a total of 67 polling stations nationwide received additional ballot deliveries. By region, Seoul had the most with 35 stations, including 15 in Songpa-gu alone. This was followed by Busan and South Gyeongsang Province with 8 each, Daegu with 7, Incheon with 6, and Ulsan with 3.

Of these, 50 polling stations actually used the additionally delivered ballots. A total of 22 polling stations temporarily suspended voting due to ballot shortages during the additional allocation process.

Regarding why only 50% of the total electorate's ballots were printed, Yoon stated that early voting rates have been rising in recent elections. In areas with high early voting rates, a large surplus of ballots often occurs on election day. Considering the subsequent procedures for collection, storage, and disposal, there was an internal belief that it was necessary to reduce the number of ballots printed. He also emphasized that the standards and procedures for calculating the number of ballots to be printed would be completely reviewed. (Editor: Chen Chenggong) 1150605