The National Election Commission (NEC) issued a public apology over a ballot paper shortage that occurred at some polling stations in Seoul's Songpa District. The People Power Party (PPP) demanded that the Seoul mayoral election be halted, saying it could "not accept the NEC's explanation at all."
Hur Cheol-hoon, secretary-general of the NEC, held a public apology press conference at the commission's headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, at 9 p.m. on Wednesday. "I deeply feel responsible for damaging public trust in fair election management, and I sincerely apologize," Hur said. Regarding the ballot shortage in densely populated Songpa District, Hur said, "We have determined that for Songpa District, only 50 percent of the number of eligible voters' worth of ballot papers was printed." He added, "Given that there was also early voting, we must thoroughly investigate why there was a shortage."
The NEC convened an emergency commission meeting around midnight to discuss measures in response to the ballot shortage.
The People Power Party reacted strongly. PPP leader Jang Dong-hyuk held an emergency press conference at 9:30 p.m. and demanded an immediate halt to ballot counting, saying, "The fairness of the vote has been broken. The Seoul election has already been tainted, and a tainted election is invalid." Jang said, "This warrants nullifying the election. There must be a re-vote. If it is not halted, we will have no choice but to fight using the strongest means available," hinting at the possibility of filing an election nullification lawsuit. He then visited the NEC headquarters to protest directly to Secretary-General Hur. Jang also entered the office of NEC Chairman Roh Tae-ak, saying he wanted to meet him.
Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon also issued a statement demanding that counting be halted. "Counting must be suspended until preliminary measures are completed in areas where voters were unable to cast ballots due to the ballot shortage," he said. Song Eon-seog, the PPP floor leader, who also held an emergency press conference, called for the election to be postponed. He cited Article 196 of the Public Official Election Act, which stipulates that "an election may be postponed if it cannot be held due to natural disasters or other unavoidable reasons."
Within the PPP, suspicions of intentional misconduct were also raised. Jeong Hee-yong, head of the PPP's election campaign committee, said in an emergency statement at the party's central headquarters in Yeouido, "We cannot dispel suspicions about whether this happened because the turnout was rising." The PPP plans to hold an emergency general meeting of lawmakers on Thursday to discuss further measures. Some within the party have called for asserting that the election is invalid. The Seoul branch of the party and each candidate's camp filmed conditions at suspended polling stations to keep records and confronted NEC officials, displaying a sharp stance.
The PPP is concerned that its candidate may have suffered a substantive disadvantage, given that the incident occurred in Songpa District, an area of strong conservative support in Seoul, and that some voters left without completing their ballots despite the NEC's decision to extend voting. The party also strongly pushed back against the NEC's explanation that it was a "simple mistake," saying it was "unacceptable."
The Democratic Party of Korea, on the other hand, expressed regret toward the NEC but dismissed the PPP's demand to halt the election as "not worth a second thought." Cho Seung-rae, head of the Democratic Party's general election campaign committee, told reporters, "We strongly express regret over the NEC's poor management of the vote." He added, "This is not a matter that can be resolved with an apology alone, and we will hold them accountable." However, regarding demands to halt counting and hold a re-vote, he said, "It is not worth a second thought. There is no reason to suspend it."
The Presidential Office, through Chief Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung's media notice, said, "The Presidential Office is closely watching the series of developments." The office added, "We expect the NEC to take responsible measures so that there are no disruptions in the exercise of voting rights and the management of ballot counting."
