South Korea's election authorities came under fire on Tuesday after several polling stations in Seoul and Incheon ran out of ballots during the June 3 local elections, forcing temporary suspensions of voting and leaving voters waiting in long lines.
According to the National Election Commission (NEC) and the People Power Party's Seoul chapter, polling stations in Seoul's Songpa, Gangnam, Gwangjin and Dongjak districts, as well as Incheon's Yeonsu district, exhausted their ballot supplies, causing extended delays for voters.
The NEC said voters waiting in line would be allowed to cast their ballots even after the official closing time, and that additional ballots had been urgently dispatched to the affected stations.
At some polling stations, officials reportedly handed out numbered tickets to voters who remained on site after the 6 p.m. closing time and allowed them to continue voting.
Local election commissions resumed voting after delivering additional ballots on an emergency basis. However, footage of ballots being transported in ziplock bags spread across online communities and social media, sparking what has been dubbed the "ziplock bag ballot" controversy.
The incident has once again brought the NEC's election management system under scrutiny. It marks the second major mishap following the so-called "basket voting" controversy during the 2022 presidential election's early voting period.
The NEC held a public briefing on the unprecedented incident, apologizing for damaging public trust in election administration. However, the commission did not provide a detailed explanation of the cause, the volume of additional ballots transported, or the length of the delays.
"The commission transported ballots to polling stations facing shortages and ensured that voters waiting in line could cast their ballots even after the closing time," NEC Secretary General Heo Cheol-hoon said. "We take this matter seriously, and as soon as ballot counting concludes, we will accurately analyze the causes and problems behind the ballot shortages at some polling stations and work to prevent a recurrence." He added, "If there is responsibility to be taken later, we will take it."
