Police riot units are deployed in the early hours of Thursday at Polling Station No. 2 in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, where voting hours had been extended to 10 p.m. the previous day due to a ballot shortage during the 9th nationwide local elections and National Assembly by-elections. [Yonhap]
Police riot units are deployed in the early hours of Thursday at Polling Station No. 2 in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, where voting hours had been extended to 10 p.m. the previous day due to a ballot shortage during the 9th nationwide local elections and National Assembly by-elections. [Yonhap]

The fallout from a ballot shortage during Wednesday's local elections has stretched into a second day, as protesters maintaining a blockade around a Seoul polling station continue to prevent the removal of ballot boxes.

About 350 people — including conservative-leaning YouTubers and ordinary citizens, according to an unofficial police estimate — had gathered by around 5 p.m. Thursday to block the entrance to Polling Station No. 2 in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, demanding the election be declared invalid.

The crowd first assembled around 10 p.m. Wednesday, forming a line to prevent the ballot boxes from being removed. Some demonstrators left in the morning, but online calls to regroup drew more people back to the scene.

Rain began falling Thursday afternoon, leaving most participants soaked, but the standoff showed no sign of breaking. A large number remained in front of the polling station, continuing to chant slogans.

Police deployed roughly 470 officers, including eight riot companies, to manage the situation. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said 164 emergency calls related to voting in Seoul were received in the 12 hours from 6 p.m. Wednesday — 135 of them concerning Polling Station No. 2 in Jamsil 7-dong.

The National Election Commission said the Seoul Election Commission must visit the station and open the ballot box before a winner in the constituency can be determined. "As soon as the ballot box can be transported, it will be moved to the Songpa-gu Election Commission's counting center," the commission said. "Counting will proceed under the observation of accredited monitors, and the winner will then be declared."

Meanwhile, a complaint filed Wednesday by the conservative civic group Seomin Minseong Daechaek Wiwonhoe — which accused key election commission officials of dereliction of duty in connection with the ballot shortage — was assigned Thursday to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's wide-area crime investigation unit.


park.jiyeong@heraldcorp.com