From a 1-vote victory to 1.08M invalid ballots: What the June 3 elections left unresolved

Invalid superintendent ballots top 1.08 million, spotlighting need for electoral reform

Democratic Party of Korea candidate Ki Ho-yeop defeated People Power Party candidate Yun Gi-hyeong by a single vote in the South Chungcheong Provincial Assembly race for Nonsan District 1 in the June 3 local elections. [Daum 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections page]

The 9th nationwide local elections produced a near-miraculous outcome: a race decided by a single vote.

In the South Chungcheong Provincial Assembly contest for Nonsan District 1, Democratic Party candidate Ki Ho-yeop and People Power Party candidate Yun Gi-hyeong were initially tallied at an identical 11,592 votes each. After election officials conducted a manual recount, Ki was declared the winner by just one vote.

"I realized how much a single vote can matter, and I felt the true weight and importance of casting a ballot," Ki said. "I am taking to heart the trust that each and every person who voted for me has placed in me."

The race stands as a vivid reminder of the value of suffrage — the right that underpins democracy.

Such razor-thin margins have decided fates before. In the 16th general election in 2000, Park Hyeok-gyu of the Grand National Party defeated Moon Hak-jin of the Millennium Democratic Party by just three votes in the Gyeonggi Gwangju constituency.

Moon demanded a recount and filed a suit to nullify the election, but the Supreme Court ruled against him, ending the legal battle within six months. The episode earned Moon the nickname "Moon Three Votes."

In the 17th general election in 2004, Kim Nak-seong of the United Liberal Democrats beat Park Gi-eok of the Uri Party by nine votes in South Chungcheong's Dangjin constituency. Park filed a suit to void the result, but the outcome stood.

Election workers sort ballots at Halla Gymnasium in Jeju on Friday afternoon after voting closed in the 9th nationwide simultaneous local elections. [Yonhap]

In other cases, recounts and legal challenges have actually reversed outcomes.

In the 7th local elections in 2018, an initial count in an Iksan City ward race in North Jeolla Province showed Jang Gyeong-ho of the Democratic Peace Party trailing fellow party member Choe Byeong-mo by one vote. A recount added three votes to Jang's tally, and he was ultimately declared the winner by two votes.

Yet this election also produced moments that seemed to diminish the weight of each ballot. Invalid votes in superintendent of education races held alongside the local elections totaled 1,087,120 — 4.0 percent of all ballots cast. That figure represents an increase of 183,893 votes, or 20.4 percent, from the previous election, prompting concern that the numbers reflect widespread voter indifference.

Superintendent races typically draw less public attention than other contests, and ballots listing only candidates' names tend to generate more invalid votes. Observers say the trend calls for both political change and reform of the electoral management system.

Shin Yul, a professor of political science and diplomacy at Myongji University, told Yonhap News Agency that while choosing not to vote is itself an expression of political rights, what matters most is that voters feel their ballot can change things. "For people to feel that voting is meaningful, politics has to demonstrate that it actually works," he said.

Lee Deok-nan, head of the education and culture team at the National Assembly Research Service, said candidates who fail to offer a clear vision, guiding philosophy or distinctive campaign pledges leave voters with little reason to engage. "Voters end up not knowing the candidates or their pledges, and that is what produces invalid ballots," she said. "The election commission needs to do more than just manage elections — it should also take a more active role in making candidates' pledges known to the public."

hope@heraldcorp.com