National Election Commission chair Rho Tae-ak bows in apology as he delivers a speech to the public in the NEC headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. (Yonhap) Rho Tae-ak, chair of the National Election Commission, offered to resign from the post in the aftermath of the election delays due to ballot shortages at 22 polling stations in the Greater Seoul region.The incident, which unfolded mostly in conservative-leaning districts in Seoul and Incheon, forced some voters to cast their votes after the exit poll results were announced on Wednesday. Also, vote counts for some districts were significantly delayed."There is no room for excuses for an incident that breached people's precious right to vote, which should have never happened," said Rho in an address to the public Friday afternoon."Feeling responsible for this entire situation, I will step down from my position as the chair of the National Election Commission," he also said, adding that the body's secretary-general Hun Chul-hoon had also offered to step down.Rho, who has chaired the election authorities since May 2022, said a committee comprising outside experts will be established to probe the root causes of the incident and draft preventative measures for future elections.The outgoing chair said the election authorities will faithfully cooperate with a parliamentary probe."The election authorities will faithfully participate in all procedures to gauge the responsibility that the National Election Commission should bear regarding this incident," he said. "If (the authorities) are required to take responsibility based on the results, they will never evade it."Vote counting was further delayed as protesters rallied around a polling station in Jamsil, Seoul, calling for a revote. The standoff with authorities attempting to transfer the ballot boxes containing thousands of votes ended Friday, after police dispersed the protesters.As vote counts resumed, the outcome flipped a Seoul city councilor seat from the Democratic Party to its rival, the People Power Party. Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon also belatedly confirmed his victory against his liberal rival Chong Won-o by 1.15 percentage points on Friday afternoon due to delays.