Seoul: The floor leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday called for a parliamentary investigation into an unprecedented shortage of ballot papers in this week's local elections. Rep. Song Eon-seog made the remarks during an emergency general meeting of PPP lawmakers at the National Assembly, after the shortage at more than a dozen polling stations in Seoul on Wednesday prompted the temporary suspension of voting. Some voters left without casting their ballots after a long wait.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the incident sparked public outrage, with angry protesters blocking the entrance to one of the polling stations to prevent election officials from removing the ballot boxes. "This is exactly the kind of case that requires a special counsel probe," Rep. Song said, emphasizing the necessity for a parliamentary probe.
After the controversy surfaced Wednesday night, the PPP had initially demanded the National Election Commission (NEC) immediately suspend vote counting and hold a revote. PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok and other party officials visited the NEC on Wednesday to file an official complaint.
The ruling Democratic Party (DP) criticized the PPP for retracting its demand for a revote. "The PPP demanded a suspension of vote counting and called for a revote when it expected the outcome to be unfavorable, but it swept such calls under the rug once the vote count turned to its favor," said Rep. Jo Seoung-lae, DP secretary general and head of the party election campaign committee.
The PPP won four out of the 16 key mayoral and gubernatorial seats up for grabs in the elections, including the key battleground of Seoul, while the DP swept 12 seats. Incumbent Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the PPP secured his fifth term, overturning an initial exit poll projection of a win for DP candidate Chong Won-o.
The NEC issued an apology but dismissed the possibility of a reelection, stating that the incident does not constitute grounds for postponing the election or conducting a new vote under the election law.