Joint Investigation Team Probes Research Project Officials Behind '50% Ballot Printing' Basis in Ballot Paper Shortage Incident

Reviewing Central Election Commission's Decision-Making Process
Investigating Allegations of Ballot Box Disposal

The joint investigation team of prosecutors and police, which is probing the "ballot paper shortage" during the June 3 local elections, will begin questioning those involved in the research project that served as the basis for reducing the volume of printed ballots.

Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the legal community on July 9, the joint team summoned one person involved in the Central Election Commission's research project as a reference witness for questioning on this day.

The Korea Institute of Public Administration submitted a research report titled "Improvement Plan for Election Procedure Work – Focusing on District, City, and County Election Committees" to the Central Election Commission in December 2022.

This report included the recommendation that the number of ballots printed for election day should be reduced. This served as the main basis for the Central Election Commission’s decision to reduce the ballot paper printing ratio from at least 60% of registered voters to at least 50%.

The report cited a lack of storage for ballot papers and the potential for security issues as grounds for reducing the print volume. It also argued that the early voting start time of 6 a.m. was too early and suggested delaying it.

The joint investigation team plans to question the research project official about how these conclusions were reached and to clarify the subsequent internal decision-making process within the Central Election Commission.

On the same day, the joint team will also question one official from the Seoul Election Commission regarding suspicions over the disposal of ballot storage boxes.

Previously, on June 10, the Seoul Eastern District Court conducted an on-site inspection at the 2nd polling station in Jamsil 7-dong to secure evidence related to the ballot paper shortage. However, the ballot boxes in question had already disappeared. The Election Commission stated that the boxes had been discarded before receiving the court’s list of evidence preservation items.

Additionally, the joint investigation team plans to summon one official and one election commissioner from the Seocho-gu Election Commission, as well as one election commissioner from the Gwangjin-gu Election Commission, as reference witnesses for questioning.

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