NEC apologizes for ballot shortages at Seoul polling stations, says incident undermined public trust in elections
Published: 03 Jun. 2026, 21:45
![Heo Cheol-hoon, secretary general of the National Election Commission, bows his head as he apologizes for ballot shortages at the commission's headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi on Wednesday. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/06/03/d3b29857-1064-496c-8640-43c9f61f849c.jpg)
Heo Cheol-hoon, secretary general of the National Election Commission, bows his head as he apologizes for ballot shortages at the commission's headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi on Wednesday. [NEWS1]
"We deeply apologize and take full responsibility for undermining public trust in the fair management of elections," said Heo Cheol-hoon, secretary general of the National Election Commission, at the commission's headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on Wednesday.
There were 14 polling stations that were experiencing ballot shortages as of 6:30 p.m., even after the 6 p.m. deadline. Of the 14, 12 are polling stations in Songpa District of southern Seoul, one in Gangnam District of southern Seoul and one in Gwangjin District of eastern Seoul.
Heo explained that the commission immediately transported additional ballot papers to polling stations experiencing shortages after becoming aware of the problem.
"Voters waiting in line were instructed that they would be able to cast their ballots normally even after the voting deadline had passed," Heo said.
Heo further added that the NEC will thoroughly look into the cause of the ballot shortage and establish measures to prevent similar issues from recurring.
Earlier in the day, the NEC said in a public notice that voter turnout in the June 3 local elections had exceeded that of the previous election. This resulted in ballot shortages at some polling stations in Songpa District.
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 JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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