A ballot box without the signature of the election official was seen being brought into the vote counting station at a polling station in Gwangju's Buk-gu during the June 3rd local elections. (A) shows the side with the official's signature, and (B) shows the top without the signature. C is an enlarged view of B. [Provided by Freedom and Innovation] 

A controversy is brewing as a ballot box with an unsigned seal by the election official was openly brought into a vote counting station. 

During the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections (June 3rd Local Elections) and by-elections for National Assembly members, a ballot box with an unsigned seal by the election official was spotted at the Munheung 1-dong vote counting station in Buk-gu, Gwangju. 

According to the Freedom and Innovation Party and the Korea-US Joint Election Irregularity Investigation Team on the 3rd, a tipster discovered this ballot box at the Munheung 1-dong vote counting station after voting concluded and submitted photos as evidence. 

The tipster's photos show that the ballot box's side handle has the election official's signature. (Right photo) However, the seal attached to the ballot box's upper input slot only has the signatures of the observers, not the election official. (Left photo) 

A representative from Freedom and Innovation stated, "This happens because the seal stickers are signed and attached in advance," and pointed out, "This was caused by the election commission's scheme to prevent cross-signing." 

Conflicts surrounding ballot box seals have been ongoing. Following suspicions of 'ballot box stuffing' (replacing the entire contents of a ballot box), observers have sought to cross-sign the seals, extending their signatures beyond the seal's outer edge, to prevent tampering with the ballot boxes. 

This issue was further exacerbated because the seals left no trace even when peeled off and reapplied. Observers argued that they had no way of knowing if someone secretly opened the ballot box and inserted fake ballots, and thus pushed for 'cross-signing' as a measure to ensure ballot box security. 

However, election authorities appeared to prioritize preventing signatures from extending beyond the seal, and conflicts surrounding this were frequent. 

It is reported that a ballot observer at a polling station in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, faced potential charges from election authorities for performing a 'cross-sign.' [Photo = Provided by Tipster] 

Indeed, during the advance voting period of this June 3rd local elections, news emerged that the Bundang District Election Commission threatened to prosecute an observer at a Bundang advance polling station for signing beyond the seal. 

This observer stated to the Korea-US Daily that they plan to take legal action. 

Given these circumstances, Freedom and Innovation believes that election authorities have been using the tactic of collecting signatures on the seals from all observers in advance, and that in this process, ballot boxes with seals that the election officials failed to sign were openly brought into the vote counting centers. 

A representative from Freedom and Innovation emphasized the seriousness of the situation, stating, "Sealing means signing or stamping on the sealed area. Signing before sealing is no different from signing a blank contract."