Special Committee Conducts First On-Site Investigation... Enters Jamsil Counting Center After Standoff With Protesters

Inspection of Ballot Management at Songpa Election Commission
Entry into Jamsil Counting Station Amid Police-Protester Standoff
Direct Inspection of Ballot Boxes and Ballots

The National Assembly Special Committee for the Investigation into the June 3 Local Election Ballot Shortage Crisis and Election Management Reform conducted its first on-site investigation on July 2. The committee sequentially visited the Songpa District Election Commission, where the ballot shortage occurred during the election, and the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium, where ballot boxes and ballot papers are stored, to inspect the management of the election and the condition of the stored ballot boxes. Chaos erupted in front of the gymnasium as protesters blocked the entrance, leading to a standoff with the police. The committee members entered the gymnasium about an hour later.

At approximately 10 a.m. that day, committee members visited the Songpa District Election Commission, and at around 12:30 p.m., they moved to the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium. After news of the committee's visit spread, a crowd of protesters gathered in front of the gymnasium. During the confrontation with the police, there were loud arguments and physical altercations. Election fraud activists, including Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Liberty and Innovation Party, also participated in the protest, shouting slogans such as "Fraudulent election, re-election."

Chairman Yoon Sanghyun and members of the National Assembly Special Committee on National Affairs Investigation, which is investigating the shortage of ballots in the June 3 local elections, were waiting on the 2nd to enter the vote counting center in Olympic Park, Songpa District, Seoul, for an on-site investigation. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

Due to the protesters' blockade, the committee members were delayed for about an hour and finally entered the gymnasium at 1:10 p.m. It was the first time in 27 days that anyone had entered the facility since the ballot boxes were moved to the Handball Gymnasium counting center on June 5 and the blockade protest began.

It is reported that the gymnasium currently stores 380 ballot boxes from all over Songpa District, 2.47 million ballot papers, and various election records such as voting and counting logs. The committee members moved to the underground storage facility to personally inspect the ballot boxes and ballot papers, and received briefings from officials on the current storage status.

Earlier at the Songpa District Election Commission, questions were raised regarding the management of ballot papers during the election. Assemblyman Seo Beomsoo of the People Power Party asked, "Other districts such as Gangseo-gu and Seodaemun-gu increased their ballot printing ratios to 55-60%. Why did Songpa-gu, where the early voting rate was relatively low, maintain it at 50%?"

Jo Sihoon, former Secretary General of the Songpa District Election Commission, replied, "We did not expect the turnout to be this high. In the previous election, about half of the printed ballot papers were left unused and all had to be discarded. Taking that case into account, we believed we made a reasonable adjustment."

The special committee plans to conduct a second on-site investigation on July 7, and to adopt its final report after holding hearings on July 14 and 22.

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