The backlash is growing over a ballot shortage at some Seoul polling stations on the day of the June 3 local elections, caused by mismanagement at the National Election Commission. On June 4, the day after the election, hundreds of protesters blocked the removal of a ballot box at the No. 2 polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul. Angered by the previous day's ballot shortage, they sealed off the polling station while shouting "election invalid." President Lee Jae-myung said that day, "I express deep regret that hard-to-understand loopholes occurred in election management," adding, "Responsibility must be clearly assigned." Oh Se-hoon, the candidate elected as Seoul mayor, defined it as "a situation in which the right to vote was violated," while the People Power Party called it "the worst election accident in history" and demanded the resignation of National Election Commission Chairman Roh Tae-ak. The Democratic Party of Korea said, "We must even consider the secretary-general's standing."
This incident is an unforgivable "disaster" in that it has damaged trust in the election. Although the voting rights of many citizens were violated due to the lack of ballots at 14 polling stations including in Seoul's Songpa, Gangnam and Gwangjin districts, the National Election Commission offered only an unconvincing explanation that it had anticipated a voter turnout of around 50 percent and prepared ballots accordingly. Moreover, the failure to respond even though signs of a ballot shortage were detected in various places from 1 p.m. on election day is the height of complacency. There is also concern that this incident could reignite the election-fraud conspiracy theory that became a pretext for the Dec. 3 emergency martial law. The reality that some 1,200 people, including Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of Freedom and Innovation, and YouTuber Jeon Han-gil, held a rally in front of the National Election Commission that day and are spreading suspicions of election fraud cannot be taken lightly.
The responsibility for reviving the election-fraud conspiracy theory lies with the National Election Commission. For the sake of restoring trust in elections, the flower of democracy, the National Election Commission must be sweepingly reformed. A fundamental remedy to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents is also important. It was not just once or twice that the National Election Commission has exposed its incompetence, but it is necessary to reflect on whether lukewarm remedies each time led to this disastrous situation. When problems erupted — including the "basket voting," duplicate issuance of ballots, poor management of ballot box seals, as well as the special hiring of employees' children — the fault of muddling through without fundamental measures was great. The major overhaul of the National Election Commission must begin with a thorough investigation into this incident. Depending on the results of the investigation, not only the working-level staff but also the top managers should bear due responsibility.
