Around 9 PM on March 9, 2022, the day of the 20th presidential election, a poll watcher, Mr. A, raised an objection after a large number of yellowish ballots were found among the early voting ballots within the district at a vote counting station in Namdong-gu, Incheon. [Photo = Kyunghyang Shinmun]

Around 9 PM on March 9, 2022, the day of the 20th presidential election, a poll watcher, Mr. A, raised an objection after a large number of yellowish ballots were found among the early voting ballots within the district at a vote counting station in Namdong-gu, Incheon. Presidential election ballots are white, but the ballots here were noticeably yellow. These cream-colored ballots are for the metropolitan mayor election.

In response, the National Election Commission claimed, "The ballots in question are early voting ballots for within the district, printed and issued on-site using roll paper. They are legitimate ballots with the correct seal from the district/city/county election commission and the seal of the early voting manager printed on them," adding, "The degree of discoloration on roll paper can vary depending on the production period and storage conditions."

If different colored ballots had appeared individually, it could have been attributed to a printer issue. However, according to the testimonies of judges and lawyers who participated in the recount in Yeonsu, the differently colored ballots did not appear individually but were found stacked together in dozens.

In other constituencies, when ballots were sorted by candidate after voting and bundled in stacks of 100, hundreds of them appeared consecutively with black lines along their sides, or alternating between lined and unlined stacks in units of approximately 100 ballots.

Around 9 PM on March 9, 2022, the day of the 20th presidential election, a poll watcher, Mr. A, raised an objection after a large number of yellowish ballots were found among the early voting ballots within the district at a vote counting station in Namdong-gu, Incheon. [Photo = Kyunghyang Shinmun]

The Election Commission should have explained how these abnormally colored ballots could have been found together at the recount site after the vote counting and sorting process. However, no further explanation was provided.

Would ballots printed by a malfunctioning printer with color issues stack up in a single file inside a ballot box when voted on consecutively? Usually, they would be scattered. Moreover, it is highly suspicious that such ballots were found gathered in one place during the vote counting.

However, the Supreme Court avoided these core issues, focusing solely on whether differently colored ballots could appear. It then concluded, "Since they can appear, there is no problem."

They raised only non-problematic issues and then applauded, declaring "no problem." Lawyers who participated in the recount at the time firmly stated, "This is a ruling that has undermined the pride, dignity, and conscience of the Supreme Court."

Reporter Lim Yo-hee