The Jamsil 7-dong No. 2 polling station in Songpa-gu, Seoul is drawing attention as a symbolic site of the unprecedented ballot-paper shortage in the 6·3 local elections. It was the only polling place among those that ran short of ballot papers to keep voting going until 10 p.m., and the crowd of protesters that gathered in the process has been staging a second day of demonstrations, blocking the removal of ballot boxes. All of it is a ‘rare sight’ in recent elections.

There is criticism that the election commission floundered on site and that inadequate initial action by the police worsened the situation. We reconstructed what unfolded hour by hour that day.

On the 4th, the People Power Party’s Songpa District Party Council said that around 4 p.m. the previous day, while the main vote of the local elections was underway, it became aware that some polling stations in Songpa-gu were short of ballot papers. A party official said they repeatedly tried to call the Songpa District Election Commission from that time but could not reach anyone, finally getting through at about 4:20 p.m. When the party official said, “가락1동과 문정2동에 용지가 모자란다고 한다”, an election commission official reportedly replied, “거긴 아직 잔여(투표용지)가 있다” and “부족한 곳은 다시 배포하고 있다”.

However, after 5 p.m., the Jamsil 7-dong No. 2 polling station also exhausted all ballot papers. Some voters who had taken a queue ticket and were waiting were reported to have protested or left without voting. After 6 p.m., voting resumed, and some voters who heard the guidance announcement in the apartment complex returned and cast their ballots.

The election commission sought to end voting at 7 p.m. at the Jamsil 7-dong No. 2 polling station. In response, about a dozen People Power Party figures, including Songpa-gu Council Chair Lee Hye-suk, and residents protested vehemently, and voting did not end. Their objection was that there were still voters who had not finished voting. Afterward, the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission said it pushed back the closing time there to 10 p.m.

At the nearby Jamsil 4-dong No. 5 polling station, there was also a ballot-paper shortage, but unlike the Jamsil 7-dong No. 2 station, voting was completed normally by the 6 p.m. closing time. This was because election workers at the Jamsil 4-dong No. 5 station contacted each voter who had received a queue ticket individually to guide them to vote. The Jamsil 7-dong No. 2 station did not take such individual contact measures, and the situation steadily worsened.

After 8 p.m., the crowd in front of the Jamsil 7-dong No. 2 polling station began to grow as people arrived upon hearing that voting had not finished. Dozens of residents and voters began chanting slogans in earnest, including “Stop the count”. Around 8:10 p.m., two voters with queue tickets came to the polling station, but the on-site election workers could not immediately decide to issue ballot papers. Only after a Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission official arrived were they able to vote. The official said, “We came to confer voting rights for now”.

As the 10 p.m. closing time approached, the crowd gathered in front of the polling station reached into the hundreds and continued to grow. Each time they witnessed the commission floundering on site, they became more agitated and raised their voices.

Attacks on the press also occurred at the polling place. One YouTuber checked press badges and tried to single out a reporter from a particular outlet, and one member of the press was struck in the face and elsewhere and pushed backward. The police waiting near the polling station to transport the ballot boxes after voting ended did not actively control the situation.

Protesters alleging election fraud and demanding a re-vote are still surrounding the polling station and staging a sit-in as of today. There are concerns that if police are deployed to move the ballot boxes, they could clash with the protesters. Because the ballot boxes have not been moved, the election commission has not been able to confirm the winners of the elections within Seoul, including the Seoul mayoral race.

There is criticism that the election commission responsible for the ballot-paper shortage has failed to take proper follow-up measures on the ground, continually worsening the situation. A Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission official said, “Counting is still underway, so it is difficult to determine the precise circumstances”, and added, “After counting ends, we plan to conduct a fact-finding investigation and clarify what happened”.