Statement posted by the civic group Truth Forum. [SNS]

The trend of joint declarations, previously centered around academics and professors, is now fully expanding into university campuses.

Following the unprecedented "ballot shortage crisis" during the 9th nationwide local elections held on the 3rd, voices of criticism are rising on university campuses. This has led to a series of statements and posted notices from students at major universities, asserting that the precious right to vote of the citizens has been infringed.

At Yonsei University, a "signed statement under real names" was published on the campus community, initiating a signature campaign urging immediate action from the student council. The authors stated, "This is an incident where the foundation of democracy was shaken, with citizens' right to vote violated due to the incompetence of a state agency," and demanded an extraordinary student general assembly to discuss the "Condemnation of the Ballot Shortage Crisis and Response Measures."

At Sogang University, a student posted a statement under their real name on campus. The statement asserted, "The state has an obligation to guarantee the voting rights of its citizens," and strongly criticized the government and the National Election Commission, stating, "The flower of democracy has been crushed as citizens were denied their right to exercise their suffrage for the absurd reason of a simple 'lack of ballots.'"

At Sungkyunkwan University, a master's student shared a statement through the campus community titled "Elections whose procedural legitimacy is undermined cannot be justified in the name of democracy." They criticized the incident as "a grave matter that has damaged the credibility of elections, akin to a rotten root," pointing out the incompetence of the National Election Commission.

On the Seoul National University free bulletin board, under the title "Why are we silent this time?", it was noted, "Once, the students of this campus were the first to rise up when voting, procedures, and citizens' rights were challenged." The post criticized, "What is revealed is not conspiracy, but incompetence," arguing that this incompetence prevented ordinary citizens from voting.

Furthermore, on the Seoul National University campus community platform Everytime, a post appeared around 9:30 PM on the 3rd stating, "We will vote on whether Seoul National University students want a re-election." As of 9:20 AM on the 4th, 281 people had participated, with 258 (91.8%) choosing "We need a re-election."

At Korea University, a post was made asserting that the ballot shortage crisis infringed upon the right to vote. A student identifying as a freshman in the Department of History stated, "The ballot shortage crisis is a clear mismanagement that undermines the credibility of election administration and disrupted the exercise of voters' suffrage."

On the Chung-Ang University Seoul Campus free bulletin board, a post read, "We demand a responsible apology from the National Election Commission, a transparent investigation into the truth, reforms to prevent recurrence, and a re-election. Remembering every trampled vote, we will hold them accountable with the spirit of righteousness until the end."

In a joint declaration, the Department of Korean History at Catholic University stated, "Apologies cannot restore the forfeited sovereignty. A few words of regret cannot substitute for the right to vote guaranteed by the constitution. This election did not satisfy any democratic principles. It was not universal suffrage, nor equal suffrage, nor secret suffrage, nor direct suffrage, nor free suffrage. In other words, this election is null and void."

On the Pusan National University bulletin board, a sarcastic post appeared stating, "It seems the 'Democratic Party and Democratic President Lee Jae-myung,' who impeached Yoon Suk-yeol for violating basic national rights under martial law, have no interest in protecting democracy."

By Reporter Lim Yo-hee