At Ruling Party Election Reform Task Force, National Election Commission to Fully Review Ballot Printing Standards (Comprehensive)

Election Commission to Consider Introducing Dedicated Emergency Response Staff

On June 16, the National Election Commission announced that it will conduct a comprehensive review of the standards for printing ballot papers, which have been identified as a cause of the ballot shortage incident during the June 3 local elections.

Song Kiheon, head of the Democratic Party's Election System Reform Task Force, is speaking at the 2nd TF meeting held at the National Assembly on the 16th. Photo by Yonhap News.

Lee Juhee, a member of the Democratic Party's Election System Reform Task Force, held a briefing with reporters immediately after the meeting at the National Assembly that afternoon, relaying that the National Election Commission had reported this plan.

In previous elections, the National Election Commission typically printed ballots equivalent to 60–70% of the number of registered voters. However, for this local election, the commission issued an instruction to print at least 50% of the ballots. The commission explained that the reason for reducing the printing standard was difficulty in securing ballot printing companies, and concerns that if an excessive number of ballots remained, suspicions of election fraud could arise.

The National Election Commission also reported plans to establish a system to monitor the remaining quantity of ballots at each polling station and to enable immediate reporting. The commission will standardize the procedures for additional distribution of ballots in the event of shortages and will regularize emergency response drills for election management. In consideration of the fact that ballot management, public inquiry response, and counting management take place concurrently on election day, the commission is reviewing the introduction of an emergency response personnel system. Additionally, in regions where a high voter turnout is expected, the city and provincial election commissions will operate on-site support teams in advance.

Assemblywoman Lee stated, "There was not even a concrete manual on how to handle the work if a ballot shortage occurred," adding that the commission said, "It is truly painful and devastating that we never even imagined a shortage of ballots could happen."

The National Election Commission identified a total of 26 locations in five regions—Seoul, Daegu, Busan, Incheon, and Gyeonggi—where voting was temporarily suspended and then resumed during the June 3 local elections. Assemblywoman Lee commented, "It appears the commission has confirmed that voting proceeded normally in all areas except these five regions," and pointed out, "The People Power Party raised suspicions regarding six regions, but based on the commission's report, it seems they may not have specifically grasped the situation."

She further explained, "Even in the regions where voting was temporarily suspended, the process was completed by issuing waiting tickets. In about 16 locations in Songpa-gu, Seoul, voting was extended for a considerable period."

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