On the 4th, police forces are on guard duty in front of the National Election Commission in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, in preparation for a surprise protest by conservative groups criticizing the shortage of ballots in the local elections. [Yonhap News] 

The police investigating the ballot shortage crisis during the June 3rd local elections will begin questioning election commission officials.

According to Yonhap News's comprehensive reporting on the 9th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Major Crimes Investigation Unit has recently requested attendance and is coordinating schedules with officials from district-level election commissions where ballots ran out.

The police plan to summon them as witnesses to verify communication records with the National Election Commission and the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission on the main voting day, as well as the status of ballot preparation.

The Major Crimes Investigation Unit, which was assigned this case on the 4th, completed investigations of the complainants, citizens who could not vote due to the ballot shortage, and district office officials mobilized for election duties within five days.

Subsequently, investigations into election commission officials are being pursued.

The police have also secured some closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from inside the polling stations.

It is interpreted that the investigation has entered a phase of rapid progress with the imminent formation of a joint investigation headquarters involving prosecutors and police, as instructed by President Lee Jae-myung.

The police are expected to finalize the personnel to be dispatched to the joint headquarters in consultation with the prosecution within the day. Until then, the police are committed to advancing the investigation as much as possible.

A representative from the Major Crimes Investigation Unit stated, "Until the joint investigation headquarters is fully operational, the police will proceed with the necessary investigations in accordance with procedures at an even faster pace."