Court Orders Election Commission to Submit Evidence of Ballot Box Disposal and CCTV Footage

Tracking the "1,900 Ballot Papers"

Partial Approval of Additional Evidence Preservation

Disposal Company and Timing of Storage Box

The court has partially accepted an additional application for preservation of evidence filed by Kim Jeong-cheol, Supreme Council member of the Reform Party, in connection with the “ballot paper shortage incident” during the 9th nationwide local elections.

On the 5th, at the second polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, ballot boxes that had been unable to be transported to the counting center due to protests following the shortage of ballots during the June 3 local elections are being transferred. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

On June 12, Senior Judge Kim Jiyeon of the Civil Division 51 of the Seoul Eastern District Court partially granted Kim’s additional application for preservation of evidence against the National Election Commission, the Seoul Election Commission, and the Songpa District Election Commission, stating, “It is accepted to the extent necessary to determine whether the items subject to verification have been discarded and to ascertain their current location.”

The court decided to conduct a fact-finding inquiry into the company reportedly entrusted with and responsible for discarding the ballot paper storage box labeled “1,900 copies,” including the company’s name, business registration number, the time of transfer, whether the items were actually discarded, and their current storage location. The court also ordered submission of related documents such as the contract with the disposal company, transfer and acceptance receipts, electronic data, and internal approval documents.

Furthermore, the court accepted the request to send relevant documents such as daily records and ledgers that can confirm that 1,900 ballot papers were prepared at the second polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul.

The court ordered the Songpa District Election Commission to submit the CCTV footage storage media showing the removal of the ballot paper storage box and packaging labeled “1,900 copies” from the polling station. The required footage period is from 6 a.m. on the 9th to 3 p.m. on the 10th.

On the other hand, an additional application to verify ballots and ballot boxes stored at Olympic Park was once again rejected, on the grounds that the need for preservation of evidence was not recognized.

Earlier, on June 9, after the first evidence preservation procedure granted by the court failed to find the ballot paper storage box marked “1,900 copies,” Kim filed an additional application for preservation of evidence to verify the disposal process explained by the Election Commission.

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