Seoul Superintendent of Education Candidate Cho Jun-hyuk [Photo = Yonhap News]

Regarding the unprecedented shortage of ballots in 12 areas across Seoul that occurred during the local elections, including the Seoul Superintendent of Education election held today, the 3rd, Seoul Superintendent of Education candidate Cho Jun-hyuk has characterized it as "election fraud initiated by the Election Commission" that has shaken the foundation of South Korean democracy. He strongly demands the immediate halt of vote counting and a rerun of elections across all of Seoul, targeting the National Election Commission and the Seoul Election Commission.

This situation, where voting was suspended due to a shortage of ballots—the most basic election material—on election day, and countless voters had to turn back after enduring endless queues, abandoning their right to vote, is not merely an administrative error or mismanagement. It is a clear case of election fraud and an act of undermining democracy that deprives sovereign citizens of their sacred right to participate in elections and fundamentally compromises the fairness of the election.

Despite causing disruptions such as extending voting hours until 10 PM due to an inability to manage ballot supply and demand in a critical national event like an election, the Election Commission has maintained an indifferent and complacent attitude. How can they prove the legitimacy of the election results without even ascertaining the scale of how many voters gave up and left due to mismanagement?

In Germany, a developed democratic nation, the Berlin State Constitutional Court and the Federal Constitutional Court, as recently as 2021, ruled for the 'invalidation of the entire election' in response to ballot shortages and voting delays during their elections, even though only about 1% of all voters were affected.

At the time, the German judiciary ruled that allowing voters to cast ballots after the normal closing time, having been exposed to media predictions and exit poll results, violated the 'principle of free elections' and disrupted the essence of elections, which is the formation of a singular voter will.

Today's situation in Seoul, South Korea, is a perfect parallel to the German case. Did the German judiciary make an unprecedented decision to hold a rerun election out of ignorance?

Therefore, as a direct party to the Seoul Superintendent of Education election and a candidate bearing the solemn responsibility to protect South Korean democracy, I, Cho Jun-hyuk, demand the following:

First, the Election Commission must immediately halt all vote counting operations across Seoul! According to public election law and judicial procedures, once vote counting is complete and a winner is declared, legal barriers prevent even filing for an injunction to suspend the election results with the court.

The Election Commission's insistence on proceeding with vote counting is merely a cowardly ploy to normalize and cover up their own fatal election fraud. Vote counting must stop now.

Second, declare this Seoul election, which is now merely a shell, null and void from the outset, and immediately conduct a rerun election across all of Seoul! No one can accept election results where the voters' intentions have been distorted and blocked, and such results cannot possess democratic legitimacy.

If the Election Commission ignores these just and serious demands and arbitrarily proceeds with vote counting and the announcement of a winner, it will be an unforgettable stain on the constitutional history of South Korea, an act of 'utter disgrace.'

Candidate Cho Jun-hyuk gravely warns that he will strongly unite with the citizens of Seoul whose sovereignty has been violated, and with like-minded political parties and civil society forces, to initiate not only comprehensive legal proceedings (election appeals and election invalidation lawsuits) but also to face the Election Commission with strong public resistance, even to the point of demanding its dissolution.

Judicial authorities must also immediately launch investigations into the background and causes of this incident and severely punish those involved. We will never stand idly by while the justice of South Korean democracy collapses.

June 3, 2026

Seoul Superintendent of Education Candidate Cho Jun-hyuk