The shortage of ballots that occurred during the main vote of the June 3rd local elections cannot be simply dismissed as a mere on-site confusion. In a briefing on the 5th, the Central Election Commission stated that out of 14,288 polling stations nationwide, ballots were additionally sent to 67 locations. Of these, actual shortages were confirmed in 50 locations, and voting was temporarily suspended and then resumed in 22 locations. 

The Election Commission explained that the reasons were reduced printing considering the increase in early voting turnout and variations in demand by polling station. However, the Election Commission is a party to the incident. The explanation from the party involved is merely the starting point for verification, not the conclusion.

Legally, the first issue is the calculation and distribution of ballots. 

Article 151 of the Public Official Election Act stipulates that district, city, and county election commissions shall prepare ballots and ballot boxes and send them to township, town, and sub-district election commissions by the day before the election. It also requires that political party representatives be allowed to observe the ballot printing, delivery, and dispatch processes. This signifies that ballots are not mere administrative supplies but legal instruments that enable citizens to exercise their right to vote. If a voter arriving at a polling station could not vote in a timely manner due to the nation's lack of preparation, the issue at that moment becomes not an administrative error but a failure to guarantee the right to participate in politics.

Even if the Election Commission explains that they "gave out numbered tickets," the conclusion does not change. Article 155 of the Public Official Election Act stipulates that election officials shall issue numbered tickets to electors waiting to vote at the polling station at the closing time and allow them to vote before closing the polling station. However, this provision is a last resort to protect the voting rights of waiting electors. It does not justify the reason why electors had to wait due to a shortage of ballots. Numbered tickets are a post-hoc supplementary procedure to prevent the deprivation of the right to participate in politics; they cannot be evidence that no infringement of the right to participate in politics occurred.

The second issue is the record.  

The Election Commission must present records detailing why ballots were printed in reduced quantities, the criteria used to allocate volumes to each polling station, where reserve ballots were stored, when the shortage was recognized, and who instructed the additional dispatch and when it arrived. These records are not optional internal documents. A national agency managing citizens' rights to participate in politics must maintain procedural records. If there are no records, it is not merely difficult to determine responsibility; the absence of records itself is the Election Commission's responsibility.

The third issue is the transfer of the ballot box from Jamsil 7-dong Polling Station 2. 

Article 168 of the Public Official Election Act stipulates that after the closing of voting, ballot boxes shall be sealed and fastened under the observation of election observers. Article 170 stipulates that the election manager shall promptly send the ballot box, key, voting roster, and remaining ballots to the relevant election commission, and may be accompanied by one election observer for each candidate and two escort police officers. Although the legal wording is "may be accompanied," this is a legal right of observation to prevent a gap in surveillance during the transfer of ballot boxes. If the Election Commission moved the ballot boxes without prior notice or re-convening, the issue is not the type of vehicle but whether the chain of custody for the ballot box transfer was broken.

Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, told reporters on the 5th after meeting with officials from the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission that the response he heard from the commission was that "not a single observer accompanied them while the ballot boxes were being moved to the counting center." He also claimed that the Seoul Election Commission explained that the ballot boxes were moved using a kindergarten bus while observers were absent without prior notification. This statement is not mere political rhetoric. It is a factual claim made publicly by a party leader after meeting with Election Commission officials. If the Election Commission wishes to deny this, they must present not words, but records of ballot box transfer, records of observer notification, records of vehicle dispatch, and records of site access control.

The fourth issue is the right to observe the ballot count.  

Article 181 of the Public Official Election Act stipulates that district, city, and county election commissions shall allow election observers to observe the counting process within the counting center. Article 177 stipulates that when opening ballot boxes, the chairman of the district, city, or county election commission shall inspect the seals and fastenings of the ballot boxes in the presence of election observers before opening them. In other words, observing the count is not a convenience that the Election Commission may permit or not. It is a legally mandated oversight mechanism. If legal election observers were physically prevented from entering after arriving, this is not an issue of maintaining on-site order but an infringement of the right to observe the count.

The counting in Jamsil 7-dong also had implications for the results. After the counting of ballots from Jamsil 7-dong, the allocation of proportional representation seats in the Seoul Metropolitan Council changed. According to a Hankook Ilbo report, before the counting of ballots from Jamsil 7-dong, the seats were allocated as 8 for the Democratic Party and 7 for the People Power Party. After the count, this shifted to 8 for the People Power Party and 7 for the Democratic Party. The final vote totals for proportional representation seats in the metropolitan council were 2,295,093 votes for the People Power Party and 2,288,569 votes for the Democratic Party. Therefore, this incident cannot be downplayed as a "procedural accident unrelated to the outcome."

The conclusion of the fact-check is clear. 

The ballot shortage is an incident where the right to participate in politics was restricted and deprived at the polling station. Numbered tickets are not an acquittal. The Election Commission's explanations are subject to verification, not verified facts. If the transfer of ballot boxes without observers and the restriction of legal observation rights are true, this goes beyond simple mismanagement and shakes the legitimacy of the election process. Whether it was intentional, due to gross negligence, or allowed to happen despite knowing the possibility of shortage must be determined through records. However, if those records are absent, that itself is the Election Commission's responsibility.

※ This article was published in Weekly Hankookilbo Issue 13 (2nd week of June)