As the vote counting progresses for the second polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, which was under lockdown for three days and two nights, patriotic citizens are demanding a halt to the count in front of the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium, the vote counting venue, on the 5th, shouting "Execute fraudulent elections." [Photo=Yonhap News]

I was born in the year of liberation and have lived through many turbulent times, but I have never witnessed such extraordinary events as I have recently.

How can such a thing happen that people couldn't vote because there weren't enough ballots? What's the point of being an IT powerhouse or making good cars? We can't even show our faces to foreigners, let alone being an African developing country.

I even feel self-disgrace at the reality that we cannot establish a transparent election system in a self-proclaimed advanced democratic country. Are they calling the statement that only 50% of the voter turnout was printed an excuse?

The Election Commission claimed in the past that they printed using shape-memory paper, which doesn't exist anywhere else in the world, as an excuse. This time, why did they print only 50% even after securing a budget for 110% of the voter turnout? Is there some unspeakable hidden reason?

Did the Election Commission, which has ignored the demands of many citizens for transparent voting and vote counting systems, only come up with the judgment that printing about 50% would be sufficient? I can only think that there is a great conspiracy hidden behind this.

This is an opportunity to thoroughly investigate the internal workings of the Election Commission and reveal the truth to the public who question the transparency of the voting and vote counting system. If the Election Commission cannot accept the simple request to count the votes as they are cast, then it should be dissolved.

There are still people who haven't come to their senses regarding this ballot shortage incident. They don't seem to grasp the gravity of this situation.

It is said that the president ordered an investigation into the loopholes in election management and a thorough pursuit of accountability. It is perplexing to know who is going to pursue accountability from whom, when the person who should be deeply remorseful and step down for undermining the foundation of democracy is pointing fingers.

Do they not even realize that they are ultimately responsible? The attitude of blaming subordinates and trying to brush it off can be fully understood by looking at their background. However, if they try to brush this off, they are gravely mistaken.

Are the citizens who are fighting overnight in front of the Election Commission and in Jamsil since the June 3rd election doing so because they are far-right? There can be no left or right in the struggle to secure the transparency of the election system. The logic of factions cannot apply to anyone's struggle to protect their right to participate in elections.

Seeing the ruling party candidate quickly concede in this Seoul mayoral election reminds me of Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election and immediately conceded. It even makes me wonder if they know something.

Just as a butcher shop that cheats on its scales leaves you feeling uneasy every time, as long as the Election Commission, a hotbed of corruption, manages elections, the public cannot help but view it with suspicion.

This is an opportunity to introduce a manual counting system with no ballot box movement that all citizens can accept, and we must all fight until that happens.

◆ Dr. Kim Jae-soo

Ph.D. in Information Science. Former Head of the Agency for Defense Development. Former Visiting Professor at Kyonggi University. Former 5th and 6th President of the Republic of Korea ROTC Patriotic Comrades Association. Currently, Co-standing Representative of the National Movement to Abolish Privileges and Chairman of the People's Foundation Light.