President Lee Jae-myung on the 29th stepped out of the booth during early voting and asked an election commission official to confirm the marks on his ballot, sparking controversy over "ballot exposure." The People Power Party argued the vote should be voided for violating the Public Official Election Act.
The president conducted early voting that day with first lady Kim Hea-kyung at the Samcheong-dong community center in Jongno-gu, Seoul. After entering the booth with his ballot, the president soon came out and asked an election commission staffer, "Is it okay if the circle mark is incomplete and only half stamped?" When the staffer replied to the effect that it was fine, the president returned to the booth.
It was not clearly confirmed whether the specific mark the president made was exposed to the election commission staffer or to people nearby during the process.
The People Power Party pushed back, calling it a "violation of secret ballot." Floor leader Song Eon-seog of the People Power Party said on Facebook, "We received a tip that President Lee Jae-myung came out of the booth while voting at an early voting site, exposed his ballot, and then went back into the booth," adding, "Under Article 167 of the Public Official Election Act, no voter may disclose a ballot to another person, and any disclosed ballot must be treated as void."
He added, "If the tip our party received is true, President Lee Jae-myung's vote should have been invalidated on the spot."
Park Seong-hun, chief spokesperson of the People Power Party's central election committee, also said in a commentary, "President Lee Jae-myung moved with his marked ballot exposed outside the booth during early voting, revealing it not only to election workers and people nearby but also to the media—an unprecedented abuse of government power in an election and an illegal act," adding, "Using the early voting site as a stage to expose to the entire nation a ballot marked for the Democratic Party is a meticulously plotted and despicable 'planned illegal election.'"
Park said, "The sitting president, who more than anyone else must strictly uphold the fairness and neutrality of elections, is openly leading an illegal election, leaving the public stunned," adding, "The Public Official Election Act strictly restricts disclosing a marked ballot to the outside or taking it out of the booth to guarantee the secrecy of the vote."
Han Dong-hoon, former People Power Party leader running in the Busan Buk-gap by-election, also said, "We hear that President Lee Jae-myung, after finishing his marking today, disclosed the ballot he had marked and then went back into the polling place," adding, "This is a clear violation of the election law. The election commission should immediately file a complaint against President Lee Jae-myung."