Seoul: Protests demanding a rerun of the June 3 local elections marred by ballot paper shortages entered the 17th day Sunday at a ballot counting site in southern Seoul. Protesters continued to chant slogans and hold pickets claiming election fraud outside SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Seoul's southern ward of Songpa, which was used as a ballot counting site for the elections.
According to Yonhap News Agency, as many as 34,000 people were gathered at the venue as of 3:30 p.m., with those in their 20s and 30s accounting for more than half of the total, based on an estimate by the Seoul city government. The protests began June 5, two days after ballot shortages temporarily suspended voting at 26 polling stations.
While the National Election Commission (NEC) has apologized for the ballot shortages, it maintains that they do not warrant a rerun under the election law. A joint team of police investigators and prosecutors has been investigating the NEC over the shortages. The government has urged people taking part in the protests to refrain from illegal acts, stating that while peaceful rallies should be protected, illegal acts of violence will not be tolerated.