Voters wait in front of a polling station in Jamsil 7-dong in southeastern Seoul's Songpa District, at 9:45 p.m., Wednesday, as voting was extended to 10 p.m. from 6 p.m. due to a shortage in ballots. Yonhap The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) leader Jang Dong-hyeok called for an immediate halt to vote counting Wednesday until the cause of ballot shortages at several Seoul polling stations during the day's local elections could be determined.“The Seoul election has been tainted. A tainted election is invalid," Jang said. "Once counting proceeds and wraps up, there will be no way to properly investigate what happened. Counting must stop right now.”Jang added that depending on the findings, the suspension should extend to all affected areas, including Seoul and Incheon, and that a by-election should be held if irregularities are confirmed.Heo Cheol-hoon, secretary general of the National Election Commission (NEC), apologized for the disruption.“I feel deeply responsible and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to voters who came to the polls to exercise their precious right to vote, and for undermining public trust in fair election administration,” Heo said during a briefing Wednesday evening.Voting at several polling stations in southern Seoul and Incheon was disrupted on Wednesday after ballot papers ran out, prompting complaints from voters and criticism from both major parties.According to the NEC, 14 polling stations across three Seoul districts ran short of ballots on Wednesday afternoon. As of 6:30 p.m., the affected stations included 12 in Songpa District, one in Gangnam District and one in Gwangjin District.Heo Cheol-hoon, secretary general of the National Election Commission (NEC), apologizes for ballot shortages in local elections in Seoul during a press conference at NEC headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. YonhapVoters were left waiting past the 6 p.m. closing time. Officials issued queue numbers to manage the lines and ensure that those who remained could still cast their ballots after the deadline, though some voters left before additional papers arrived. The NEC attributed the shortage to a higher-than-expected turnout, adding that extra ballots were transported to the affected stations.As of 11 p.m., a crowd of more than 100 people had gathered to block the transport of ballot boxes at a polling station in Jamsil 7-dong in Songpa District. The crowd included residents who had stayed to protest the disruption as well as YouTubers and others who arrived after news of the shortage spread. Some demanded the ballot boxes remain at the station and called for the election to be nullified, while others accused the protesters of pushing fraudulent conspiracy theories.A similar disruption occurred in Incheon's Yeonsu District, where two polling stations temporarily ran out of ballots around 5:30 p.m. Additional ballots were delivered, though some voters waited up to 20 minutes while they were being transferred. According to the National Police Agency, 14 complaints related to ballots were received, among them reports of voters being turned away at polling stations, including those in Songpa, Gangnam and Gwangjin districts.A police officer stands at a polling station in Jamsil 7-dong in southeastern Seoul's Songpa District, Wednesday. Voting hours at the station were extended until 10 p.m. because of a shortage of ballots for the local elections, delaying the transfer of ballot boxes. Yonhap As of 9 p.m. Wednesday, the commission was unable to provide a full accounting of the affected stations, the number of additional ballots delivered or the length of delays at each location. Heo said the NEC would release the details as soon as vote counting is complete and investigate the cause of the shortages.Both major parties criticized the election watchdog over the shortage. The PPP vowed to find those responsible and hold them fully accountable.“The NEC exists to ensure fair and transparent elections, yet it allowed voters to be turned away on Election Day due to a lack of ballot papers. This goes far beyond poor preparation and is a dereliction of duty,” said Rep. Jung Hee-yong, head of the PPP's election campaign committee.Rep. Song Eon-seog, co-chair of the PPP's joint campaign committee, said the party would launch an investigation into the incident immediately after the election and pursue accountability.The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) also criticized the NEC for mismanaging the situation but drew a clear line against the PPP's demands.“We express strong regret over the NEC's mismanagement. This is not something that can be resolved with a mere apology, and we will hold those responsible for the poor election administration accountable,” said Jo Seoung-lae, secretary-general of the DPK.However, Jo dismissed the PPP's calls to suspend vote counting and hold a reelection as "not worth considering."