Jang Dong-hyuk, standing co-chair of the People Power Party's election committee, speaks at the final central election committee meeting held at the National Assembly on June 3, the day of the local elections. [Yonhap News] 

Jang Dong-hyuk, standing co-chair of the People Power Party's election committee, urged on the 3rd that the vote counting for the June 3 local elections, which was marred by a ballot shortage, should be immediately suspended and a re-election held.

At an emergency press conference held at the party's headquarters in Yeouido on the same day, Jang stated, "The Seoul mayoral election has already been contaminated. A contaminated election is invalid. We must immediately suspend the vote count until the truth is revealed."

He continued, "And depending on the findings of the investigation into the truth, the election in Seoul must be re-held. For all areas where similar incidents have occurred, vote counting should be suspended, and if there are problems, a re-election should be conducted."

Jang strongly criticized the ballot shortage at 17 polling stations, including Songpa District in Seoul, stating, "The fairness of the election has been shattered."

He said, "As a result, there will be voters who gave up voting while waiting for ballots, and there will be voters who gave up on going to the polls altogether after hearing news that they couldn't vote due to a shortage of ballots or left after waiting for a long time. The voting in Seoul this time is an election where voters' right to vote and right to participate in public affairs have been severely infringed upon."

He then announced, "We will visit the National Election Commission immediately to demand a suspension of the vote count."

In particular, Jang warned, "This is not the first time that election management has been poor. The election management commission must provide a clear explanation of the facts that the public can understand and announce its position, and bear legal responsibility accordingly."

He further emphasized, "If we fail to completely eradicate the problem of poor election management by the election commission this time, we will inevitably face social conflict and repeat the situation of incurring social costs in every election."

When asked if the party intended to file an injunction with the court to halt the vote count if the election commission proceeds, he replied, "If we file for an injunction now and the election commission proceeds with the vote count without stopping, there may be no benefit to the application. Therefore, rather than waiting for an injunction, the election commission should first suspend the vote count on its own."

Earlier, the People Power Party identified a ballot shortage at a total of 17 locations as of 8 p.m., including polling station No. 6 in Guui 3-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul; polling station No. 7 in Noryangjin 1-dong, Dongjak-gu; polling station No. 7 in Jamwon-dong, Seocho-gu; polling station No. 3 in Banpo 4-dong; polling station No. 4 in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu; polling station No. 2 in Gaepo 2-dong; polling stations No. 3 and 7 in Garak 2-dong, Songpa-gu; polling station No. 4 in Munjeong 1-dong; polling station No. 2 in Munjeong 2-dong; polling station No. 6 in Jamsil 2-dong; polling station No. 5 in Jamsil 4-dong; polling station No. 2 in Jamsil 7-dong; polling station No. 5 in Wirye-dong; polling station No. 6 in Dongchun 1-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, Gyeonggi Province; polling station No. 1 in Songdo 5-dong; and polling station No. 5 in Dongtan 4-dong, Hwaseong-si.

Earlier, Song Eon-seok, co-chair of the election committee, also held an emergency briefing and stated, "We hope the National Election Commission will immediately suspend the vote count for the Seoul election. We formally request the postponement of the election in accordance with the Public Official Election Act."

He argued, "An unprecedented situation has occurred. If voting is prevented for more than an hour, it can lead to a situation where one cannot vote for personal reasons, which is a serious infringement of the right to participate in public affairs."

Some within the party are also calling for "election invalidation" and "impeachment of the election commission chairman."

The leadership of the People Power Party visited the National Election Commission in Gwacheon that night to protest and demanded an immediate suspension of the vote count, and decided to hold an emergency lawmakers' meeting at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 4th.