Sejong City Mayor Choi Min-ho announced at a press conference on the 18th that he had filed an appeal with the National Election Commission requesting the nullification of the results of the June 3rd local election for Sejong City Mayor. [Yonhap News] 

Choi Min-ho, Sejong City Mayor who failed in his bid for re-election in the June 3rd local elections, announced on the 18th that he had filed an appeal with the National Election Commission (NEC) requesting the election be nullified.

Mayor Choi stated at a press conference held at Sejong City Hall on the same day, "Due to serious and difficult-to-understand irregularities, it was unavoidable to file an appeal for election nullification with the NEC."

One of the serious and difficult-to-understand matters he cited was the vote counting status report from some polling stations in Sejong City.

He explained, "The start time for ballot sorting at the top of the vote counting status report was printed with the date and time of May 12, 2026. However, the time of announcement of the vote counting status by the head of the election management committee at the bottom of the same document was handwritten as June 3rd."

He further stated that such markings were confirmed at polling stations such as the 3rd polling station in Jochon-eup, the 2nd polling station in Dodam-dong, and the 3rd polling station in Sodam-dong.

Vote Counting Status Report: The vote counting status report released by Sejong City Mayor Choi Min-ho shows the ballot sorting start time at the top indicated as 9 PM on May 12, 2026. [Provided by Sejong City Mayor Choi Min-ho. Reproduction and database prohibited.]

Mayor Choi pointed out, "A date and time unrelated to the actual vote counting date was printed as the start time for ballot sorting. The NEC needs to provide a clear explanation as to why and how this document was prepared and used, and whether similar vote counting situations occurred at other polling stations."

He emphasized, "If the same type of irregularity is repeatedly confirmed in the official documents of an election, transparent verification is in line with democratic procedures. Since elections and voting require guarantees of rights and trust through flawless procedures and the announcement of results, even such minor doubts need to be resolved."

The Sejong City Election Commission explained that the issue occurred due to an incorrect time setting on the ballot sorting machine.

An official from the Election Commission stated, "It seems the time setting was not accurate when the sorting machine was first turned on and set up. We discovered that one out of 11 sorting machines had this issue around 10:50 PM on the day of vote counting, and after correction, the ballots were re-sorted and the results were announced."

He added, "Mayor Choi is referring to the data posted before the re-sorting. The vote counting status report was marked with 're-sorting' and then announced, but he is not mentioning that. The vote count was the same without any issues after re-sorting."

Mayor Choi Min-ho failed in his bid for re-election in this local election, having lost to Cho Sang-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was elected as the Sejong City Mayor.

Although his duties were suspended during his candidacy for the local elections, he will be able to complete his term as mayor, which is scheduled to end at the end of this month, after returning to his post following the election.