Hundreds rallied for a fourth straight day Monday outside a voting facility in Songpa District to demand a revote because of ballot shortages experienced during last week's local elections.
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Demonstrators chant slogans at the entrance to the handball gymnasium at Olympic Park in Songpa District, Seoul, on June 8. They are continuing a blockade of the building, which served as a voting station, to protest ballot shortages during the June 3 local elections and demand a revote.YONHAP
Hundreds of protesters rallied for a fourth straight day Monday outside a vote-counting facility in Seoul, demanding a new election over ballot shortages experienced during last week's local elections.
As of 9:30 a.m., approximately 950 protesters surrounded SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Songpa District, according to an unofficial police estimate. Protesters blocked the stadium's 10 entrances to prevent the removal of ballot boxes.
This marked a sharp drop in the number of protesters from over the weekend, as around 8,000 people were gathered at around midnight Sunday.
The protests have continued since voting was temporarily suspended at 22 polling stations nationwide on Wednesday due to a lack of paper ballots, according to the National Election Commission (NEC).
Protesters have demanded a revote, with some claiming electoral fraud.
The police have deployed around 350 personnel to the scene to prevent accidental clashes.
As part of an investigation into the ballot shortages, the police said they have secured chat room records of election officials and questioned election workers and people who were unable to cast their ballots due to the issue.
They also separately called in a civic activist for questioning over a complaint his group filed against senior NEC officials, including the NEC's chief who offered to resign last week, for dereliction of duty over the ballot shortages.
Kim Soon-hwan, secretary general of the People's Welfare Countermeasure Committee, called for a thorough probe into the incident as he appeared at the Seoul Gangdong Police Station in eastern Seoul.
Protesters gather around the handball gymnasium at Olympic Park in Songpa District, Seoul, on the night of June 7. The venue served as a vote-counting station, and the demonstrators are condemning a ballot shortage in the June 3 local elections and demanding a revote.YONHAP
The police plan to look into whether the election watchdog properly followed ballot paper distribution standards.
On Sunday, President Lee Jae Myung voiced deep regret over the ballot shortages and ordered the launch of a thorough joint investigation by prosecutors and police into the incident.
