Youth filling Jamsil. Voices shouting 'Fraudulent Election, Recount' pierce the sky. ⒸHanmi Ilbo 

“The Republic of Korea is no longer a democratic nation. It has been seized by anti-state forces and is being dragged along as a satellite state of the Chinese Communist Party.”

These are the words of Jin Cummings. She is Korean-American. Her hometown is Jamsil, and she is an objective witness to the times who has observed Korean politics for a very long time. Her final conclusion after witnessing the recent June 3rd local elections was, 'The Republic of Korea is not a democratic country.'

It's not just Jin Cummings. Mostan sees the June 3rd local elections as an opportunity to fundamentally change the Republic of Korea. There is a pervasive sense of crisis throughout the nation that democracy will be permanently dominated by the Democratic Party and the left-wing through electoral fraud. Therefore, Mostan has appealed for a revolution to normalize the Republic of Korea. There was also encouragement that if we make efforts, the United States will also step in.

The author feels the same way. I have never seen or heard of such an election in my life. I am experiencing a panorama of fraudulent elections where all sorts of election rigging have been mobilized. Some even point out that the March 15th fraudulent election during the Syngman Rhee era was mild in comparison. The election was that chaotic. Exclamations of profound dismay pour out.

Electoral fraud can be categorized into 'electronic fraud' committed with electronic counting machines and 'physical manipulation' of ballots. However, elections in the Republic of Korea add 'media silence' and 'protective rulings by the judiciary' to these two.

The management of voter rolls is so chaotic that during the last general and presidential elections, we heard reports of a grandmother born during the reign of King Sunjo of Joseon casting a vote. This grandmother was nearly 200 years old. She was, in essence, a ghost.

Evidence of election fraud was undeniably captured in the June 3rd local elections. From left to right: brick ballots, torn seals, un-retrieved serial numbers. [Photo=Bubangdae]

Ballots? They are now called 'brick ballots,' but previously they were known as 'shape memory ballots' that could be folded and then returned to their original flat state. Such unbelievable ballots appeared in large numbers again this time.

For example, the election in Daegu City was largely between Kim Bu-gyeom and Choo Kyung-ho. The issue is that the ballots supporting Kim Bu-gyeom were neatly stacked, crisp 'brick ballots' like new currency, while Choo Kyung-ho's ballots were creased as if handled by people. This clear evidence is circulating all over the internet. It's heartbreaking.

At the vote count, there were even more astonishing scenes. In one YouTube video, there was a sorter that only categorized votes for the Democratic Party. In the early voting in Songdo, Incheon, the vote counts for Park Chan-dae (3030) and Yoo Jeong-bok (1440) miraculously appeared identically in both Songdo 1-dong and 2-dong.

We also saw constituencies where unbelievable individuals were elected. In some constituencies, the voter turnout exceeded 100%, reaching as high as 130%. These were not isolated cases. It is impossible to conclude anything other than that manipulated ballots were added in numbers exceeding the eligible voting population.

Even more pathetic were ballot papers that only had the Democratic Party and the People Power Party printed on them. Where did all the other candidates go? Some were marked with stickers. In Songpa District, where there was a ballot shortage, officials appealed to the election commission via text message as they ran out of ballots. However, the election commission remained silent. It was a situation with no possible excuse.

There is a claim that the fraudulent elections, conducted regardless of whether they were general elections, presidential elections, or local elections, were designed by China and the Democratic Party, led by the Election Commission, and shielded by the judiciary, constituting a total systemic fraud.

How could such an immense operation have continued without being properly exposed? The answer can be found in the comprehensive cooperation.

I even considered whether anti-state elements or Honam residents deeply loyal to the Democratic Party were heavily involved, but this would be impossible without the support of a great power like China.

The shortage of ballots is not a mere isolated incident but a cause for fraudulent elections, particularly the appearance of brick ballots. It can only be assumed that approximately 50% of the expected ballot quantity was prepared based on the turnout of previous elections, with the intention of simultaneously inserting the rest, pre-marked for Democratic Party candidates.

This is the only explanation for the brick ballots that appeared physically. However, when the turnout unexpectedly increased, they ran out of ballots, and everything was exposed. The unfurled, crisp brick ballots are characterized by being found in 'bunches.'

There are also numerous situations that raise suspicion of electronic manipulation. Physical manipulation, electronic manipulation, and the act of tearing open seals late at night to insert absentee ballots for overseas voting—Korean elections have churned out a torrent of despairing evidence.

The participation of as many as 120,000 Chinese nationals in the voting also fuels distrust. This must be interpreted as China actively intervening in the fraudulent elections in the Republic of Korea.

As Jin Cummings stated, it appears that China is currently exerting proxy rule through Lee Jae-myung. As the controversy surrounding the June 3rd fraudulent elections escalates, there are reports that China's online comment brigades have emerged to support the Democratic Party. This is an attempt to manipulate public opinion by framing it as 'flawed elections' rather than 'fraudulent elections.'

The fact that the National Election Commission and all local election commissions are headed by regional chief judges or judges raises suspicions of collusion. Is this why lawsuits regarding organized electoral fraud, excluding individual candidate misconduct, are being fundamentally blocked?

In the context of the June 3rd local election fraud controversy, the remarks and stance of Minister of Justice Jeong Sung-ho are even more astounding. He declared that theories of electoral fraud conspiracies and demonstrations by extreme forces will never be tolerated. Therefore, according to Jeong Sung-ho's statement, the citizens gathered in Jamsil are all conspiracy theorists of electoral fraud and extreme elements.

Initially, it was reported that 50 locations had a ballot shortage, which then increased to 67, then 90, and finally 140 locations. This is a global disgrace. Foreign media are also extensively reporting on this incident. However, they are threatening punishment if anyone calls this election fraudulent. The more I think about it, the more I feel it's outrageous, yet this is also evidence of the close tie between the Democratic Party and electoral fraud. All the revealed fraudulent ballots are marked for the Democratic Party.

Even without Jin Cummings' statement, the Republic of Korea is losing its qualification as a democratic nation. Among the police who appeared to suppress the protests, some are even denying the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. It is suspected that they are Chinese public security officers who came for training through an exchange program.

In this June 3rd election, as many as 176 election commission officials took leaves of absence. There would be no one more aware of electoral fraud than election commission officials. Therefore, could it be that they applied for leave out of a sense of justice, stating, 'I cannot cooperate with electoral fraud'?

All of this is a self-portrait of the Republic of Korea living in the 21st century. Low quality and vulgarity are constantly occurring around the government. Therefore, is electoral fraud not emerging for the survival of the Democratic Party? How can we explain election commission officials carrying ballot papers marked with stickers in paper bags? Currently, without electoral fraud, it is difficult for the Democratic Party and the left-wing to survive in the Republic of Korea.

With businesses leaving due to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' strikes and the exchange rate reaching 1550 won, it is impossible for the public to support the Democratic Party and Lee Jae-myung.

The high exchange rate and the collapse of small businesses present a situation more severe than during the IMF crisis. National defense is even more critical. We see soldiers guarding with batons, the joint South Korea-US military exercises are being postponed, and due to anti-American actions in diplomacy, the US is expected to deliver a swift blow soon. Rural areas, experiencing a drop in land prices due to a comprehensive survey of farmland, are in an uproar. Despite all this, supporting the Democratic Party is beyond common sense.

Without electoral fraud, the Democratic Party is bound to collapse. Due to the 'red communists' barely clinging to existence through fraudulent elections, the Republic of Korea is becoming a global spectacle. Who wouldn't be enraged by a country that has fallen to political backwardness, facing ridicule and criticism?

Handwritten signs and posters are plastered throughout Jamsil ⒸHanmi Ilbo 

A few years ago, I was returning home after a debate in Seoul. As someone who lives in the countryside, the subway is a very unfamiliar mode of transportation for me. I kept asking which line I needed to take to find my way.

After barely finishing the event, I asked a young person next to me if I was on the right subway to Seoul Station to confirm if I was on the correct line. The young man nodded and replied that I was.

I had to take the KTX from Yongsan Station after Seoul Station. As we approached Seoul Station, the young man looked back with a worried expression. He seemed concerned that I didn't seem to be getting off. "Grandfather, this is Seoul Station." When I replied that I was getting off at Yongsan Station, he smiled, appearing relieved.

I was so happy watching the young man's back. The kindness of looking out for a stranger. They were truly good descendants. How beautiful is the Republic of Korea, living alongside such youth? Yes, no matter what, we must create and protect such a country and pass it on.

I saw young people flocking to a badminton court on a YouTube video. I also saw a university student who had collapsed, unconscious, due to police action. My eyes blazed. Who made this young person fall? There can be no guilt in youth angered by fraudulent elections. They are our children, our future.

It must have been anger at the world we had created incorrectly. The will to protect the sovereignty of my people and a nation where I am the master. The will to defend the liberal democracy and the right to vote that I desire and wish for was a rightful entitlement. We have lost that rightful entitlement. We, the elderly, were the sinners. Because we made the world incorrectly.

The feeling of guilt for not having created a beautiful country for the young person I met on the subway weighs heavily on me. I only feel sorry and deeply sorry. What have we been doing all this time?

At this stage of life where the end is in sight, what more fear would make me hesitate? Before we beat and knock down the youth of our children, shouldn't we die first?

"Oh, my beautiful and precious youth of the Republic of Korea, I am so sorry, so deeply sorry. Because we did wrong, you have come out onto the streets like this. I am sorry. I am sorry. I am sorry."

Comment: The democracy we have created incorrectly, the politics we have created incorrectly, the labor movement we have created incorrectly, the education we have created incorrectly, the elections we have created incorrectly... We are the sinners.

I wish that our lovely young people would no longer be hit, no longer cry, and no longer be angry. We are the sinners.

◆ Poet Jeong Jae-hak

Poet, national merit recipient, columnist, Park Chung-hee Presidential Public Relations Committee member, 36 years of teaching in Jeolla Province.