"Working to persuade citizens blocking ballot box removal at Jamsil 7-dong Precinct 2"

Kim Beom-jin, secretary general of the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission, is blocked by citizens preventing the removal of a ballot box as he attempts to enter Precinct 2 in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Thursday. [Yonhap]
Kim Beom-jin, secretary general of the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission, is blocked by citizens preventing the removal of a ballot box as he attempts to enter Precinct 2 in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Thursday. [Yonhap]

By Joo So-hyun, The Herald Business

The National Election Commission said Thursday it has established a fact-finding committee to investigate a ballot shortage that disrupted voting during the June 3 local elections, vowing to hold those responsible fully accountable.

In a press release issued that day, the commission offered a renewed apology, saying it was "deeply sorry for the significant confusion and inconvenience caused to voters exercising their right to vote."

The commission said it decided to launch the fact-finding effort — and develop measures to prevent a recurrence — immediately after vote counting concludes. The panel will be composed primarily of outside experts.

The commission plans to analyze voting records from polling stations that ran short of ballots and gather firsthand accounts from election managers and staff. It also said it would thoroughly investigate the causes and responsibilities identified by the panel and make the findings public in full.

The commission also said it was visiting Precinct 2 in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, where removal of a ballot box has been delayed even after polls closed, and was working to persuade citizens gathered there in a standoff. On Wednesday, ballot shortages caused voting delays at 12 polling stations in Songpa-gu as well as one each in Gangnam-gu and Gwangjin-gu.

At Precinct 2 in Jamsil 7-dong in particular, a group of protesters alleging election fraud has been blocking removal of the ballot box, delaying the declaration of a winner in that constituency. The commission said it would transfer the ballot box to the Songpa-gu election commission's counting center as soon as transport becomes possible, and that counting would proceed under the observation of official scrutineers before a winner is declared.


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