Scene of the blockade at the June 3 local election vote counting station. [Seoul=Yonhap News] The National Election Commission (NEC) announced on the 8th that additional ballot papers were sent to 140 polling stations across the country to replenish shortages during the June 3 local election.

In a press release issued that day, the NEC stated that it had identified 140 out of the 14,288 polling stations nationwide that required additional ballots due to anticipated shortages.

This figure is an increase of 73 from the findings announced by the NEC on the 5th.

By region, the breakdown was as follows: 53 in Seoul, 36 in Gyeonggi, 18 in Incheon, 9 in Busan, 7 in Daegu, 5 in Gyeongnam, 4 in Jeonnam, 3 in Ulsan, 2 in Gangwon, and 1 each in Chungbuk, Jeonbuk, and Gyeongbuk.

The number of polling stations where the additional ballots were actually used for voting also rose by 41 since the 5th, totaling 91 stations.

In Seoul, the number increased from 33 to 42, and in Incheon, from 6 to 11. Additional cases were also found in Gyeonggi (23), Jeonnam (2), Chungbuk (1), and Jeonbuk (1).

The number of polling stations where voting was temporarily suspended and then resumed due to a shortage of ballots was also found to have increased by 4, reaching 26.

Specifically, the number in Songpa-gu, Seoul, increased from 12 to 15, while Buk-gu in Busan, Dong-gu in Daegu, and Gimpo in Gyeonggi each saw an increase of 1.

Conversely, the number in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, decreased from 3 to 1. This reduction appears to be due to the discovery that while there was a shortage of ballots at the 2 stations, it did not lead to a suspension of voting.

The NEC will operate a "Fact-Finding Committee on the Ballot Shortage Incident" from the 10th to the 19th to investigate the cause of the shortage and determine accountability.

The committee is composed of six external members recommended by civic groups, the legal community, the media, and academia, with lawyer Cho Hyun-wook, former president of the Korean Women Lawyers Association, serving as chairperson.

The committee plans to investigate all aspects of the process, including ballot printing, allocation, and supply management. It also intends to evaluate the appropriateness of polling station operations, initial response measures, and reporting systems following the incident.

In addition, it plans to investigate whether there are any other polling stations where ballot shortages occurred.

Meanwhile, the NEC announced that following Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae’s notification of the termination of Chairman Roh Tae-ak’s appointment that day, Standing Commissioner Wi Chul-hwan will serve as acting Chairman of the NEC.

The dismissal of Secretary-General Heo Chul-hoon has also been processed, and Deputy Secretary-General Kang Dong-wan will serve as acting Secretary-General. Furthermore, the NEC decided to relieve the Director of Election Policy and the Director-General of Election Bureau 1 of their positions effective the 9th.