05/06/2026

FRIDAY | JUNE 5, 2026

7 Ballot paper shortage sparks protests

o Authorities must ensure voting rights of citizens are not undermined: S. Korean president

SEOUL: South Korea’s National Election Commission (NEC) said yesterday 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. The ruling Democratic Party (DP) clinched a resounding victory in the local elections and parliamentary by-elections, winning the key mayoralty in the traditional conservative stronghold of Busan, while the main opposition party retained the Seoul mayoral seat, Yonhap News Agency reported. The DP won 12 out of the 16 key mayoral and gubernatorial seats up for grabs, including in Busan, where Jeon Jae-soo was elected mayor, while the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) took four seats, including Seoul, where incumbent Mayor Oh Se-hoon was elected to a fifth term, according to the final

vote count. Of the total 14 seats contested in the parliamentary by-elections, which were held concurrently with the local elections, DP clinched nine, followed by PPP with four seats, while the remaining seat was won by an independent. Thirteen of the 14 parliamentary seats were previously held by the ruling party, but its loss of four seats is seen as a minor dent to its dominance in the 300-member National Assembly, where it already controls a majority. However, ballot papers ran out at more than a dozen polling stations amid higher-than-expected turnout, according to media reports. The shortage forced some voters to wait hours or leave without casting ballots, with voting extended at affected sites. Lee yesterday expressed “deep regret” over the ballot paper shortage, saying authorities must ensure the voting rights of citizens are not 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.

Far-right protesters yesterday chanting slogans, calling for a halt to vote-counting and a rerun of the race as they surround a polling station where ballot boxes for local elections are kept in Seoul. – REUTERSPIC

pledged NEC “accountable for its shoddy election management”. Songpa resident Han Seo Jeong, 70, said she was unable to vote after arriving at a polling station at 5pm (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 should not happen in this day and age.” The NEC declined comment on individual cases, referring to its previous apology. – Reuters to hold the

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 added that the incidents do not constitute grounds for delaying the election or holding a rerun. PPP co-campaign chief Song Eon-seog called the shortage a serious breach of voting rights, citing incidents in Seoul, Incheon and Hwaseong in Gyeonggi Province. DP secretary-general Jo Seoung-lae

Songpa resident Yoomi Lee 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,” she said, describing residents as “very, very angry”. Yesterday 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”.