National Election Commission: "67 Polling Stations Faced Ballot Shortages"... 15 Concentrated in Songpa District

Additional Ballots Used at 50 Polling Stations, Voting Suspended at 22

"Reduced Printing Due to Higher Early Voting Rates"

On the day of the June 3 local elections, a total of 67 polling stations nationwide received additional ballot papers. Of these, 50 polling stations actually used the additional ballots, while 22 polling stations temporarily suspended voting due to a shortage of ballots before resuming operations. The National Election Commission explained that it had reduced the number of ballots printed for the main voting day due to the increase in early voting rates, but failed to adequately reflect the varying demand at each polling station.

No Taeak, Chairman of the National Election Commission, is making a public apology for the shortage of ballots on the 5th at the Central Election Commission in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Yonhap News

On June 5, the National Election Commission held a briefing at its Gwacheon headquarters in Gyeonggi Province regarding the ballot shortage incident, stating, "As of now, we have identified 67 polling stations out of 14,288 nationwide that required additional ballots due to shortages."

By region, Seoul had the highest number with 35 polling stations. This was followed by Busan with 8, Gyeongnam with 8, Daegu with 7, Incheon with 6, and Ulsan with 3. In Seoul, 15 polling stations were concentrated in Songpa District alone. Additional ballot papers sent to the polling stations were actually used at 50 sites, while 17 polling stations received the extra ballots but did not use them.

Some polling stations experienced a halt in voting. The commission revealed that voting was temporarily suspended and then resumed at 22 polling stations due to the ballot shortage. The commission plans to verify whether there are further cases through a full review of the voting records and to investigate the causes and response process through an investigative committee.

The direct cause of the incident was the reduction in ballot printing. Yoon Jaesoo, policy chief of the National Election Commission, explained, "As the early voting rate has continuously increased in recent elections, areas with high early voting rates tended to have a surplus of ballots. Internally, there was an opinion that it was necessary to reduce the number of ballots printed, taking into account the collection, storage, and disposal process."

Prior to this election, the commission revised its manual, allowing for the number of ballots printed for local elections to be set at a minimum of 50% of registered voters. For presidential and parliamentary elections, the standard is 60%, and for local elections, 50%. However, the figure can be adjusted by district or polling station to reflect local circumstances.

The issue was not the total quantity, but the variation among polling stations. The commission explained that in Songpa District, the early voting rate was 23.3% and the final voting rate was around 66%, so "there was no shortage of ballots in Songpa District as a whole." However, the number of voters on election day differed significantly among the 146 polling stations within Songpa District, and it was determined that some polling stations ran out of ballots.

Yoon stated, "We were insufficiently prepared, as we did not establish detailed procedures for delivering ballots in the event of a shortage. We will comprehensively review the standards and procedures for determining the quantity of ballots printed and establish measures to prevent a recurrence."

On this day, National Election Commission Chairman Noh Taeak issued a public apology and announced his resignation. National Election Commission Secretary General Heo Cheolhoon also tendered his resignation, accepting responsibility for the incident. Chairman Noh stated, "There is no excuse for an incident that infringed on the precious right of suffrage. We will swiftly establish an investigative committee to clarify the root cause, the problems, and the response process."

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