Heo Cheol-hoon, secretary general of the National Election Commission, issues a public apology after a shortage of ballot papers prompted the temporary suspension of voting in the local elections at some polling stations in southern Seoul, South Korea, 03 June 2026. South Koreans voted on 03 June to elect mayors, governors, local council members and regional education chiefs in nationwide local elections. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
June 5 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s election chief said Friday he will resign to take responsibility for ballot shortages that disrupted voting during the June 3 local elections.
Roh Tae-ak, chairman of the National Election Commission, made the announcement during a public apology at the commission’s headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. NEC Secretary-General Huh Chul-hoon also offered to resign.
“The high public interest in local autonomy and the active expression of the people’s will through voting were damaged by the ballot shortage,” Roh said. “As chairman of the National Election Commission, I feel devastated and bear unlimited responsibility for the situation, which has damaged public trust in election management and led to distrust in the election process.”
The commission said ballot shortages occurred at 50 polling stations nationwide, including 14 in Seoul’s Songpa district. Voting was temporarily halted at 22 polling stations, the commission said. Outside reports also said the shortages caused delays and protests in parts of Seoul.
The commission said the shortages were linked to a decision to print ballots for at least 50% of eligible voters in some areas, reflecting internal discussions about reducing unused ballots as early voting rates have risen in recent elections.
Yoon Jae-soo, head of the commission’s election policy office, said the minimum number of ballots was set at 50% of eligible voters but could be adjusted depending on local conditions.
“In Songpa district, when the early voting rate of 23.3% was included, ballots equal to 73.3% of eligible voters were secured,” Yoon said. “But shortages occurred because there were differences among individual polling stations.”
The commission said it will create a fact-finding committee made up of outside experts to examine the cause of the shortages, identify problems in the response and prepare measures to prevent a recurrence.
Roh said the commission will cooperate fully with any process to determine responsibility, including a possible National Assembly investigation.
“We will sincerely take part in all procedures to confirm the commission’s responsibility for this incident and will not avoid responsibility depending on the results,” Roh said.
On Wednesday, voters at some polling stations in Seoul’s Gangnam, Gwangjin and Songpa districts had to wait because of ballot shortages. The disruption has drawn criticism from political parties, civic groups and universities over the commission’s election management.
Oh Min-seok, chairman of the Seoul Election Commission, also issued a public apology Friday.
“This was the commission’s fault, with no excuse,” Oh said. “We deeply feel responsibility for damaging public trust through poor election management that ran counter to common sense.”
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260605010001883