Leaders of the People Power Party said that the shortage of ballots that occurred in Seoul "seriously infringed on voters' suffrage and voting rights" and said "the vote count must be halted."
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok held a briefing on the issue at 9:30 p.m. on the 3rd, saying, "A ballot shortage occurred at 17 polling places, including in Songpa District, Seoul," and criticized the authorities, saying, "In the case of Jamsil 2-dong, a district office official had already provided information about the ballot shortage three hours earlier, yet the National Election Commission took no action."
Jang said, "There will be voters who gave up voting while waiting for ballots. There will also be voters who said they gave up because of a shortage of ballots, or who, after seeing news that people left after waiting a long time, decided not to go to the polls at all," adding, "This Seoul vote is an election in which voters' voting rights and suffrage were seriously infringed. The fairness of the vote has been broken."
Jang said, "Ballot counting must be halted immediately until the facts are ascertained," adding, "Depending on the findings, the election in Seoul must be rerun." Jang is scheduled to visit the National Election Commission in Gwacheon shortly to lodge a protest.
Song Eon-seog, the People Power Party floor leader and co-chair of the election committee, also said, "If voting is blocked for more than an hour, situations can arise in which people are effectively unable to vote due to personal schedules, health, or other personal reasons. In short, it is a grave infringement of voting rights and suffrage," adding, "There are also very serious doubts about whether normal ballot control is being maintained while ballots are being rushed in from elsewhere."
The floor leader Song also said, "We ask that the Seoul vote count be halted immediately."
Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party's candidate for Seoul mayor, also called for a halt to the count. Oh said, "The count must be halted until prior measures are completed in areas where people could not vote due to a ballot shortage," adding, "There must not be a single case in which citizens' suffrage is infringed."