An aerial view of Cheong Wa Dae [Yonhap]
An aerial view of Cheong Wa Dae [Yonhap]

Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday it is "closely and sternly monitoring the situation" after ballot shortages disrupted voting at some polling stations in Songpa-gu, Gangnam-gu and other districts during the nationwide local elections.

Kang Yu-jung, chief spokesperson for Cheong Wa Dae, said in a statement that the National Election Commission, as a constitutional body responsible for guaranteeing citizens' right to political participation, should "take responsible action to ensure there are no disruptions to voting or ballot-counting in the affected areas."

The National Election Commission is an independent constitutional body and does not fall under the direction or supervision of the president as head of the administration. The statement was widely interpreted as an indirect call for the commission to swiftly resolve the situation and conduct a thorough investigation into the cause — particularly as opposition figures have raised the possibility of filing lawsuits to invalidate the vote over the ballot shortage.

Earlier Wednesday afternoon, voters were left waiting at some polling stations in Seoul's Gangnam-gu, Gwangjin-gu and Songpa-gu after ballots ran out.

At Polling Station 2 in Jamsil 7-dong, authorities extended voting hours until 10 p.m. for voters who had already received a queue number. However, some citizens and YouTubers reportedly blocked the movement of ballot boxes, preventing officials from declaring the polling closed even after 11 p.m.


sang@heraldcorp.com