PPP protests as ballot shortages disrupt voting at some Songpa polling stations

Ballot shortages disrupted voting at polling stations in Songpa District, southern Seoul, during the June 3 local elections, halting voting at some sites for part of the afternoon and drawing sharp criticism from the opposition People Power Party (PPP).

Voters had been waiting since 1 p.m. at locations including the Jamsil 2-dong polling station No. 6 due to the shortage, and voting stopped at 4:30 p.m., Yonhap reported. At Jamsil 4-dong, voting hadn't resumed since 4:10 p.m. Poll workers on-site told voters they were waiting for instructions from the election commission.

The National Election Commission (NEC) said four to five polling stations across four Songpa neighborhoods ran short as voting neared its close because turnout was higher than in the previous election, and that the district election commission was sending more ballots to the affected sites. 

The PPP's Seoul chapter put the number higher, saying that as of 6 p.m., it had counted 12 affected stations across four districts, eight in Songpa and the rest in Gangnam, Gwangjin and Dongjak.

"Turnout is higher than in the last election, so some polling stations in Songpa District have run short of the ballots they prepared," the National Election Commission (NEC) said.

"The Songpa District election commission is transporting ballots to those stations."

The commission said voters who join the line by the 6 p.m. close can still cast their ballots afterward. "Voters who are waiting can vote normally even after the closing time," the NEC said, adding that people should not "misunderstand that voting is impossible today because of the ballot shortage."

PPP floor leader Song Eon-seog urged voters not to give up. "Absurd news is coming in that people in Seoul can't vote because of a ballot shortage," he wrote on Facebook. "Citizens of Seoul, you must never give up on voting. Even if it's hard, please wait calmly and be sure to vote."

Song called on the NEC to guarantee that those who waited could vote past 6 p.m. and to "transport the ballots quickly." 

He also said the party was receiving reports that voting was taking place at several polling stations across the country without PPP observers present. 

"This isn't the 19th century. Does this even make sense?" he said, vowing to "get to the bottom of this and hold those responsible to account" once the election ended.

Jeong Hee-yong, head of the PPP's election campaign committee, called it "a shocking incident that should not and cannot happen at a polling place in 2026 Korea" in a statement at the party's headquarters in Yeouido. 

"I can't shake the suspicion that this happened because they got nervous as turnout rose," he said. He said that for an agency meant to ensure fair and transparent elections to leave voters unable to vote went beyond poor preparation to an abdication of duty.

Cho Eun-hee, who heads the campaign committee for Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon, urged voters to stay.

"Citizens who haven't been able to vote yet or are waiting must be very inconvenienced and upset, but I earnestly ask you to vote," she said. 

"I strongly warn the election commission," she added, saying infringing on voters' rights this way could not be tolerated and that the NEC should "mobilize every means to let citizens vote immediately."

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY PARK JONG-SUH [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]