124-Vote Margin Decides Outcome... Recount Ordered in Chungju Mayoral Election

Scheduled for July 15 at Korea National University of Transportation

The North Chungcheong Provincial Election Commission will conduct a recount of the votes for the mayoral election in Chungju, where the outcome was determined by a margin of 124 votes in the June 3rd local elections.

Vote counting is underway at the counting center for the June 3 local elections. Photo by Yonhap News

According to Yonhap News Agency on June 22, the North Chungcheong Provincial Election Commission announced that it had accepted a recount request filed by Maeng Jeongseop, the Democratic Party of Korea candidate, who lost to Lee Dongsuk of the People Power Party in the Chungju mayoral race.

The recount is scheduled to take place at 1:00 p.m. on July 15 at the main auditorium of Korea National University of Transportation. However, the schedule may change depending on venue availability and other circumstances. In accordance with relevant laws, Maeng will be responsible for the costs associated with the recount.

This recount will be conducted manually, without using the ballot sorting machines employed during the original vote count. Election officials will personally review each ballot and sort them by candidate, after which a counting machine similar to those used in banks for counting bills will be used for a secondary verification.

Invalid ballots and those subject to objection will be reviewed separately by the court, the election commission, and observers from each candidate's camp.

In the June 3rd local elections, Maeng received 49.94% of the vote (52,838 votes), losing to Lee, who earned 50.05% (52,962 votes), by a margin of 124 votes.

On June 8, Maeng petitioned the election commission to nullify the results, citing the excessive number of invalid ballots (2,277 ballots) compared to the margin between the candidates. According to Article 219 of the Public Official Election Act, a candidate who disputes the validity of an election result may file a petition with the election commission within 14 days of the election. The commission must decide whether to accept the petition within 60 days.

Maeng explained, "A large number of invalid ballots were recorded and the election results were reversed in the early morning hours, so there is a possibility that confusion arose due to the physical fatigue of the vote counters. This is not an attempt to dispute the election results, but an effort to reconfirm whether there were any errors in the counting process."

The election commission will make a final decision on whether to accept Maeng's petition to nullify the election results based on the outcome of the recount.

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