Revote protest continues for fifth day following ballot shortages in local elections

Protests continued outside a vote-counting facility in Seoul for the fifth day on Tuesday, as people demanded a rerun of last week's local elections over ballot shortages at some polling stations.

As of 10 a.m., some 200 protesters surrounded SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Songpa District, southern Seoul, according to an unofficial police estimate. The number was sharply down from about 2,000 on Monday afternoon.

Tens of thousands of people had amassed at the stadium over the weekend to protest the ballot shortages and block election authorities from removing ballot boxes.

The lack of ballot papers temporarily suspended voting at 26 polling stations nationwide last Wednesday, according to the National Election Commission.

While the protests over the weekend had largely focused on demanding a revote, protesters claiming electoral fraud, with signs that read, "Stop the steal," were spotted on Tuesday.

Under the election law, a petition must be made to the election watchdog to invalidate a local election and run a new one. If the election watchdog rejects the petition, a lawsuit can be filed in court to challenge the decision.

The minor New Reform Party has expressed its intent to file a petition to partially invalidate the election results.

The protest has paralyzed operations of sports organizations based at the stadium, including the Korea Handball Association and the Korea Underwater Association.

A Korea Underwater Association representative said that the blockade has disrupted preparations for the 2026 CMAS World Championship Finswimming Indoor scheduled to open in Incheon on June 22.

Yonhap