Police complaint submitted against election watchdog; protests persist even after mayor's win Citizens hold a protest outside of a polling station in Jamsil-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Thursday, blocking the votes from being taken by the National Election Commission. (Yonhap) The controversy surrounding ballot shortages in Wednesday’s local elections carried over into Thursday, as pressure mounted for an investigation into the National Election Commission.President Lee Jae Myung joined the criticism, calling the shortage a serious lapse in election management and ordering related agencies to determine the cause and hold those responsible accountable.“I express deep regret over this unacceptable failure in election management,” Lee said during a senior aides’ meeting at Cheong Wa Dae.A right-leaning civic group, the People’s Welfare Countermeasure Committee, reportedly filed a criminal complaint against high-ranking NEC officials, accusing them of abuse of authority and dereliction of duty.The move came after ballot shortages were reported at 14 polling stations in Seoul and 17 nationwide during the local elections.“The ballot shortage resulted in voters being deprived of their right to vote. This is an absurdity that shook the very foundation of democracy,” the group said, urging NEC Chair Roh Tae-ak, Secretary-General Heo Cheol-hoon and other related officials to step down immediately.The NEC was found to have printed too few ballots for Wednesday’s election. Some polling stations in Songpa-gu reportedly only prepared ballots for about half of the eligible voters.The shortage prompted a wave of complaints from voters who said they had been unable to cast ballots or had faced long delays at polling stations.By late Wednesday, the protests appeared to shift from voter complaints over election management to a more politically charged gathering, as right-wing supporters and YouTubers joined the scene and raised claims of election rigging without evidence.The affected areas, including Songpa-gu, Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu, have traditionally shown strong support for the conservative bloc, adding to anger among supporters of the main opposition People Power Party.People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok on Wednesday called for the election to be invalidated after exit polls projected a loss for the party’s candidate.After Oh Se-hoon pulled off an upset and won a fifth term as Seoul mayor, the party leadership largely refrained from making further official calls to nullify the results. Party members, however, continued to condemn the NEC and demand that election officials step down.Conservatives continue protest after Oh's winHundreds of protesters gathered outside a polling station in Jamsil-dong, one of the sites affected by the ballot shortage, continued their demonstration Thursday even after Oh had effectively won the election in the morning.The standoff left an estimated 2,000 votes tied up at the site, not enough to overturn the result but enough to delay Oh from being officially declared the winner.The NEC tried to persuade protesters to disperse, saying it could not confirm Oh’s victory unless all votes were collected, but the appeal had little effect.“Just because Oh won doesn’t mean we can accept a wrongful election,” one right-leaning YouTuber said at Thursday’s protest, saying protesters had to secure “evidence of election rigging.”The number of protesters, which had dwindled to fewer than 200 on Thursday morning, rose again to a police-estimated 350 by noon.Many of those gathered outside the polling station appeared to be supporters of the conservative bloc. They cheered as Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the far-right extra-parliamentary opposition Freedom & Innovation, showed up and called for a revote.The standoff forced NEC officials and civilian observers to remain inside the building. It also triggered complaints from Jamsil residents over noise and disruption.Far-right activists and YouTubers have repeatedly raised unsubstantiated claims of election rigging in races won by liberal candidates, including the 2025 presidential election won by President Lee.While the exact proportion of far-right activists among the protesters remains unclear, those gathered in front of the NEC headquarters on Wednesday night shouted slogans including “Arrest President Lee.” Jeon Han-gil, a former educator known for his far-right views, claimed at the protest that “all elections nationwide are void.”