People Power Party Files Election Annulment Lawsuits Over June 3 Local Elections Including Seoul

Election Annulment Lawsuits Filed for Ten Cases Including Seoul Mayoral Race

The People Power Party has filed an election annulment lawsuit regarding the ballot paper shortages and suspension of voting that occurred during the 9th nationwide simultaneous local elections.

On the 27th, the party's Legal Advisory Committee announced that it would sequentially submit complaints to the Supreme Court and the relevant high courts for a total of ten cases—six related to metropolitan mayors and proportional representation council members in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon, and four cases related to Songpa-gu.

Previously, the National Election Commission dismissed all 122 election petitions filed by the People Power Party. In Seoul, there were ballot shortages at 42 polling stations, and among these, voting was suspended for up to 113 minutes at 22 locations.

While the National Election Commission acknowledged a violation of Article 6 of the Public Official Election Act, it dismissed the petitions by citing, among other factors, the 60,259-vote margin between the first and second place candidates in the Seoul mayoral race, concluding that it was difficult to see the irregularities as having affected the election outcome.

Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, is holding a press conference at the National Assembly regarding current issues. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

The People Power Party maintains that, because it is not possible to precisely assess the number of voters who gave up on voting, it cannot be concluded that the incident had no impact based solely on the vote margin between candidates. The party especially noted that in the Seoul Metropolitan Council proportional representation election, the margin between the two leading parties was only 7,524 votes, so the situation could have influenced both party vote shares and seat allocation.

Kim Taekyu, Chair of the Legal Advisory Committee, stated, "It is hard to accept that the National Election Commission acknowledged its legal violation yet dismissed the petitions on the grounds that the election outcome was unaffected. Given that both citizens’ voting rights and the fairness of the election are at stake, the court must thoroughly examine any illegalities in the election management process and their impact, and deliver a strict ruling."

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