'Do you see citizens as animals?' Election officials confronted at Seoul polling site

Seoul Election Commission officials visiting a polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu — the site of a ballot shortage controversy — clashed Thursday with protesters demanding answers over allegations of election fraud.

Kim Beom-jin, secretary general of the Seoul Election Commission, and other officials emerged from the second polling station at the Woosung Apartment senior center in Jamsil 7-dong at around 10:40 a.m. and told the crowd that vote counting had to be completed before the electoral process could be considered finished. "We cannot declare Oh Se-hoon the winner until the count is done," Kim said.

Addressing the protesters, Kim acknowledged shortcomings in the process. "What matters now is the count," he said. "I apologize for the concern caused by certain deficiencies in the election procedures."

His remarks drew an angry response from the crowd, and the atmosphere quickly turned hostile. One citizen shouted, "This isn't a left-right issue. There needs to be a re-election. Do you see citizens as animals?" Some protesters surrounded Kim and other officials, grabbing at their clothes and hurling insults, resulting in physical altercations.

As the situation threatened to turn violent, divisions emerged within the crowd itself — some moved to block the officials while others urged restraint, arguing that violence was unacceptable.

One citizen appealed for calm, invoking the Seoul Western District Court incident. "Have you forgotten what happened at the Western District Court? The ones blocking and hitting are the agitators," the person said. "Let them go. Those blocking them are not true patriots."

The standoff at the polling station has continued, with a ballot box containing votes from more than 2,000 people remaining in place for over 19 hours. Poll watchers inside the station said they had not slept all night.

19시간 넘게 꼼짝 못 하는 투표함…갇혀 버린 내부 참관인 “밤새 한숨도 못 자” [세상&]

[헤럴드경제=이영기 기자] 초유의 투표용지 부족 사태로 서울 송파구 잠실7동 제2투표소 앞에서는 2000여명분의 투표지가 담긴 투표함을 두고 대치가 이어지고 있다. 시위

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