Citizens demanding a re-vote and condemning an unprecedented ballot shortage have continued their protest for a fourth day.
According to reporting compiled by Seoul Economic Daily on Saturday, the area around the handball stadium at Olympic Park in Seoul's Songpa District, where ballots are being counted, was crowded with citizens demanding a re-vote on the morning of the fourth day since the ballot shortage occurred.
The crowd of protesters, which had grown to about 30,000 by 10 p.m. the previous day according to an unofficial police estimate, thinned somewhat after midnight. According to Seoul's real-time city data, the real-time population inside Olympic Park as of 10 a.m. ranged from a minimum of 8,000 to a maximum of 8,500. The crowd is continuing to grow, with the floating population up 34.5% from three hours earlier. By age group, participants were evenly distributed from those in their 20s to those over 60, ranging from 16.4% to 20%. Unlike other recent protests, this demonstration has no particular organizer or organizing group, and most participants are reported to be in their 20s and 30s on average.
Protesters gathered at the eight entrances to the counting station, chanting slogans calling for a re-vote. Citizens who had joined the protest from the previous day and stayed up all night lying on mats were found in various spots. They continued their protest by holding picket signs with messages demanding a re-vote and chanting slogans, or by waving national flags and singing the national anthem. Vehicles were also found bearing phrases such as "We will hold up the national flag until there is a re-vote" and "Guarantee the people's sacred sovereignty."
Until the previous day, protesters had opposed the opening of the ballot boxes and blocked National Election Commission staff and some media reporters who had been inside the counting station from leaving the building. Staff who had been inside were later reported to have left the stadium during the early morning hours. Police set up barricades in front of the eight entrances to block entry.
This protest began immediately after a ballot shortage occurred at the No. 2 polling station in Jamsil 7-dong on June 3, the day of the main vote for the 9th nationwide local elections. At the time, some citizens who were unable to vote and conservative supporters gathered in front of the polling station, claiming election fraud and blocking the removal of two ballot boxes inside the polling station. After a two-day standoff, police broke through the protesters and succeeded in removing the ballot boxes at around 10 a.m. on June 5.
Once the two ballot boxes were transported, protesters rushed to the front of the handball stadium at Songpa's Olympic Park, the counting station, and continued their rally. Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the People Power Party, Rep. Lee Jin-sook of the People Power Party, who was elected in this by-election in Dalseong County, Daegu, and Rep. Joo Jin-woo of the People Power Party visited the site and demanded a meeting with NEC officials.
Figures who have claimed election fraud also visited the site. At around 6:30 p.m. the previous day, Morse Tan, a professor at Liberty University in the United States, visited the protest site and claimed, "This election is clearly fraudulent." Tan, a former U.S. State Department Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice during the first Trump administration, had been raising conspiracy theories about Korea's elections and is currently subject to a travel ban after coming under investigation on charges including defamation. Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Freedom and Innovation party, and former Korean history instructor Jeon Han-gil also joined the protest.
Political circles are also keeping a close watch on the possibility of a parliamentary investigation. On June 6, Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho said regarding the ballot shortage, "The ballot shortage is a serious problem that gravely infringes upon the right to political participation, which is the foundation of democracy and an inviolable right of the people." He added, "I expect that strong and effective measures that the public can accept, including a special counsel or a parliamentary investigation, will be taken swiftly in the near future." However, Jung also added that he would respond strongly to election fraud conspiracy theories.
