1,725 ballots with printing smudges (toner marks). [Photo = Park Joo-hyun's Facebook]

"Identical printing smudges were found on ballots from different locations, Geoje in Gyeongnam and Yeosu in Jeonnam. Isn't this evidence that absentee pre-voting ballots, which should have been printed by different printers, were produced in the same region, at the same location, as counterfeit ballots?"

This was pointed out recently by Lee Sang-ro, a former MBC reporter, in an open letter to National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik.

The printing smudge incident surfaced around 2:30 AM on April 11, 2024, the day after the general election on April 10, during the counting of absentee pre-votes at the Cheonma Gymnasium, Yeungnam University College of Engineering, Daegu Metropolitan City. Two ballots with what appeared to be printing smudges on the top were discovered.

Identical Smudges Found in Different Regions 

The ballots in question were stamped with the absentee voting manager's seal for Gohyeon-dong, Geoje City, and Soram-myeon, Yeosu City, respectively.

The whistleblower reported, "Although the absentee pre-voting locations were different, Gohyeon-dong and Soram-myeon, a mark resembling black ink smudges was found in the same pattern on the upper part of the absentee ballots. I suspect it might be a mark created by the same machine."

Clearly visible vertical printing smudges. [Screenshot from Hanmi Ilbo YouTube]

How exactly did these smudges occur? It was all a mystery: could toner marks appear on ballots printed by Epson inkjet printers, and if so, how could the same marks be found on ballots from different regions?

The National Election Commission stated, "While toner marks are rarely left during ballot printing, inconsistencies in printing or slight contamination can occur depending on the residual ink levels. The smudges on the ballots appear to be marks from the printer's rubber packing."

If ballots have such marks or are faintly printed and difficult to see, they are classified according to the 'Criteria for Handling Mishandled or Damaged Ballot Papers,' and new ballots are reissued. This is recorded as a 'special case.'

If this is the case, did the voting managers handle the problematic printed smudge ballots as special cases when they were distributed to voters at the polling stations?

"We Have Never Seen Such Ballots"

The absentee voting manager for Soram-myeon, Yeosu City, stated in an interview with the media, "If such ballots were printed, the voting manager or the ballot issuance machine operator would have discussed whether to use them as valid ballots or reissue new ones on the spot. Absentee ballots are checked one by one before distribution, so it's impossible for a ballot with ink smudges to have been issued."

Attorney Park Joo-hyun testified in a 'Pre-disputed Ballot Processing' submission in April 2024, stating, "Identical ink roller marks are visible on ballots from Geoje, Gyeongnam, and Yeosu, Jeonnam." [Photo = Park Joo-hyun's Facebook]

The absentee voting manager for Gohyeon-dong, Geoje City (a public servant for 31 years), also responded, "After receiving notification of the discovery of ballots with ink smudges, I reviewed the ballots in question through photographs and confirmed that no such ballots were found at the Gohyeon-dong polling station."

He further explained, "Absentee ballots are carefully checked for any abnormalities by the machine operator. Detailed explanations are provided to each voter regarding the voting method and the process of placing the ballot in the envelope. Therefore, if there was any contamination on the ballot, it would not have gone unnoticed."

He emphasized, "Even if we concede, it might be possible for an internally voted ballot to be overlooked. However, for absentee ballots, only about 200-300 people vote per day, and they go through multiple verification steps, so it's impossible for them not to be discovered."

He added, "We classify even much smaller smudges than the ballots in question as mishandled or damaged ballots, so any contamination as prominently visible as this would have been immediately classified as a special case by the office manager."

He reiterated, "I am 99.9% confident that ballots with such marks were never issued at the absentee polling station in Gohyeon-dong."

The problem is that this is not an error limited to these two locations. A staggering 1,725 ballots with identical printing smudges (toner marks) have been discovered in 10 regions across the country, including Seoul, Jeju, and Gwangju.

The suspicion that absentee ballots from 10 regions were printed in bulk at a single location, is this suspicion unfounded? Where did these strange ballots come from, which even the voting managers say they have never seen?

Most importantly, according to Attorney Park Joo-hyun's disclosure at the "Grand Debate on Election Irregularities," when the delivery route of absentee ballot boxes was tracked, the vehicle carrying the ballot boxes allegedly traveled from Gyeongju to Nam-ulsan, passing through Pohang, then going to Daejeon, and even up to Gangneung. Why would they make such a circuitous route when the destinations were so close?

By Lim Yo-hee