A "ballot paper shortage" occurred during the 9th nationwide local elections. Amid the unprecedented chaos of voting procedures being temporarily suspended at some polling stations, a vote-rigging scene from the past drama "Rustic Period" (Yain Sidae) circulated online on the 4th.
The previous day, prepared ballots ran out early at 14 polling stations including those in Seoul's Songpa, Gangnam, and Gwangjin districts, causing chaos as voting procedures were temporarily halted. The National Election Commission took emergency measures, urgently transporting additional ballots and allowing voters who were waiting on-site to vote even after the closing time.
Heo Cheol-hoon, Secretary-General of the National Election Commission, issued a public apology at 9 p.m. the previous day and bowed his head, saying, "I deeply feel responsible and sincerely apologize for inconveniencing citizens who came to polling stations to exercise their precious sovereignty, and for undermining public trust in fair election management."
"What Would Ignorant Citizens Know?"... 'Rustic Period' Revived
Meanwhile, a scene from episode 121 of the SBS drama "Rustic Period," which aired in September 2003, was quickly shared across various online communities and social networking services (SNS).
The scene depicts political gangster Im Hwa-su, ahead of the March 15, 1960 rigged election, conspiring with his subordinates on schemes to siphon off votes.
In the drama, one subordinate, responding to Im Hwa-su's statement that "the Liberal Party has decided to pre-vote 40 percent of the total votes," expresses concern, asking, "We need to siphon off that many voters' ballots to our side, but if citizens don't receive their ballots, will they just stay quiet?"
Im Hwa-su then replies, "What would those ignorant citizens know? If the ballots didn't come out, they'll just assume that's how it is."
The drama features a setup in which ballots are deliberately diverted to fundamentally block voters from exercising their right to vote. This scene drew renewed attention as an unprecedented ballot shortage occurred at actual polling sites on the 3rd.
However, the "40 percent pre-voting" in the video is a dramatization of the March 15, 1960 rigged election under the Liberal Party regime. It is a separate matter with different facts from this incident, which has been attributed to a shortage of printed ballots.
President Lee Also Expresses "Very Great Regret" Amid Criticism from Both Parties
The political world also unanimously criticized the National Election Commission. The People Power Party criticized the incident as "a shocking event that could not and should not happen at a voting site in Korea in 2026," adding, "Causing a situation where voters could not vote due to a ballot shortage on election day goes beyond mere lack of election preparation to a dismal level of abandoning duty, and we cannot but lament it."
The Democratic Party of Korea also pointed out through a statement, "This is unprecedented incompetent administration in which a shortage of ballots fundamentally blocked the sovereign people's right to political participation," adding, "The National Election Commission should not cover this up with a simple apology, but must follow up with a thorough investigation into the truth and disciplinary action against those responsible, regardless of rank."
President Lee Jae-myung also strongly criticized the National Election Commission's mismanagement at a senior secretaries' meeting held at the Blue House that afternoon. President Lee said, "All state institutions have a duty to make thorough preparations so that there is not the slightest gap in the process of citizens exercising their sacred right to political participation," adding, "I express very great regret that a hard-to-understand loophole occurred in election management, which should be more thorough than anything in a democratic republic."
He continued, "Relevant institutions must use all the authority and responsibility the administration has to clearly identify the reason for the problem, and if there is responsibility to be taken, it must be clearly held accountable," and instructed, "Please promptly prepare reliable and appropriate measures so that the people's right to political participation is never undermined in the slightest again."
Unprecedented Ballot Shortage... Mistake or Structural Problem?
