Oh Min-seok, Chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission (Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission), issued a public apology on the 5th over poor management of voting.
Chairperson Oh said, "I deeply apologize to the citizens of Seoul and the public for the shortage of ballot papers that occurred at some polling stations on June 3, election day," and added, "We fully recognize our grave responsibility for damaging trust due to election management failures that defy common sense."
Chairperson Oh said, "Once again, I bow my head in apology for the great inconvenience caused to voters by the shortage of ballot papers," and added, "We failed to prepare for the possibility that turnout would be higher than expected, and we also failed to respond swiftly after the incident—this is our commission's fault."
He continued, "I also offer my sincere apologies to the election officials, including polling managers and polling clerks, who endured extreme fatigue from long hours of polling duties."
Chairperson Oh said, "The Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission views this matter with the utmost seriousness," adding, "After the Songpa-gu Election Commission completes the count, we will thoroughly ascertain the circumstances and facts of this incident and make every effort to devise measures to prevent a recurrence so that this never happens again."