Voters call for a nationwide revote after ballot paper shortages during the June 3 local elections disrupted polling at dozens of stations at a rally near the vote counting center in Songpa District, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
The National Election Commission (NEC) is under criminal investigation and intense pressure to make sweeping reforms after unprecedented ballot paper shortages in the local elections last week triggered public fury and allegations of a systematic electoral failure.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Monday questioned Kim Soon-hwan, head of the People’s Welfare Countermeasure Committee, a Seoul-based nongovernmental organization. Kim lodged a complaint against NEC officials over cases in which many voters were unable to cast ballots because of the shortages.
Speaking to reporters, Kim likened the incident to the April 19 Revolution, the first democratic movement in Korea in 1960, calling it a major setback for democracy and a grave violation of Korea’s voting rights won through decades of struggle. His organization accused NEC Chairman Roh Tae-ak and others of abuse of power and dereliction of duty over the commission’s flawed handling of election resources.
Police are examining whether the NEC complied with its own standards for allocating ballot papers as well as the broader decision-making process that led to the shortages. Suspicions persist that the commission may have printed only about half the necessary ballot papers despite getting 110 percent of the required budget from local governments. Critics question how such mismanagement was possible even after a poll before the election showed 73.6 percent of respondents were certain they would vote.
