[6.3 Election] Prolonged Blockade at Jamsil 7-dong Polling Station...Standoff Continues for 19 Hours

Ballot Papers for 2,000 Voters Remain Undelivered to Counting Center

At the No. 2 polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, where a shortage of ballot papers occurred during the June 3 local elections, protesters have continued to block the removal of ballot boxes for 19 consecutive hours. As a result, ballot papers for approximately 2,000 voters have not yet been delivered to the ballot counting center for the second day.

As of 5 p.m. on June 4, around 350 people—including conservative-leaning YouTubers and citizens, according to unofficial police estimates—were blocking the entrance to the No. 2 polling station at the Woosung Apartment Senior Center in Jamsil 7-dong, claiming that the election should be invalidated.

The protesters, who gathered around 10 p.m. on the day of the election, have crowded the entrance to prevent the ballot boxes from being removed. Although the number of protesters briefly dropped to about 100 as some left the site on the morning of June 4, online calls to rally brought the crowd back up again.

Requests to gather at the Jamsil 7-dong polling station have been posted on conservative-leaning YouTube channels and online chat rooms discussing allegations of election fraud.

Although heavy rain has been falling since the afternoon, most participants’ clothes and hair were visibly soaked. They repeatedly sang the national anthem and chanted slogans such as “fraudulent election,” “nullify the election,” and “disband the National Election Commission.”

Raincoats, bottled water, coffee, and snacks were distributed at the scene, and a vehicle loaded with dozens of plastic chairs arrived, signaling a possible prolonged standoff.

One man, speaking into a microphone, said, “I am here to reclaim my right to vote,” and announced plans to file criminal charges—including dereliction of duty—against Noh Tae-ak, Chairperson of the National Election Commission, and related officials.

The police have deployed about 470 officers to the site, including 8 riot police units, to manage the situation. Authorities have found it difficult to identify the organizers, making it challenging to take action against the unregistered rally.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, there were a total of 164 reports to the 112 emergency police line related to voting in Seoul in the 12 hours from 6 p.m. the previous day. Of these, 135 reports—accounting for the majority—were related to the No. 2 polling station in Jamsil 7-dong.

The National Election Commission stated, “The Seoul Election Commission must visit the No. 2 polling station in Jamsil 7-dong and open the ballot box in order to determine the winner for that constituency. As soon as it becomes possible to transport the ballot box, it will be sent to the Songpa-gu Election Commission’s ballot counting center. The vote counting will be conducted in the presence of ballot counting observers, and the winner will be decided.”

Yonhap News

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.