On June 3, the main voting day for the local elections, a polling station in Jamsil-7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul saw voting hours extended due to a shortage of ballots, followed by delays in transporting ballot boxes. A large crowd gathered at the scene, and some citizens reportedly blocked the removal of ballot boxes while shouting "election fraud" and "void the vote."
At Polling Station No. 2 in Jamsil-7-dong, voting could not proceed on schedule because the prepared ballots ran short. The National Election Commission decided to continue voting only for voters who had received waiting tickets and extended the closing time from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
As voting dragged on into the night, confusion at the site grew. After voting ended, some individuals reportedly blocked the transport of the ballot boxes in protest. They are said to have strongly objected, taking issue with the ballot shortage and the extension of voting hours.
Earlier in the day, polling stations in parts of Songpa-gu and other areas in Seoul experienced ballot shortages, causing voters to wait or voting to be delayed. The People Power Party claimed that ballot shortages occurred at 17 polling stations across Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, and Hwaseong, while the election commission explained that higher-than-expected turnout caused ballots to run short at some stations.
The National Election Commission issued an official apology over the incident. At a public press conference, NEC Secretary-General Heo Cheol-hoon said, "We have caused great confusion and concern to the public due to the ballot shortage." He added, "We deeply apologize and take full responsibility for inconveniencing citizens who came to the polls to exercise their precious right to vote and for undermining public trust in fair election management."
The commission said it will thoroughly investigate the causes of the ballot shortage and any management failures once the vote count is complete, and will draw up measures to prevent a recurrence.
