The National Election Commission held a briefing at its Gwacheon complex on the 5th, apologized for the ballot shortage and announced the findings of its internal probe. Roh Tae-ak, chair of the National Election Commission, declared his resignation and said the body would also cooperate with a National Assembly investigation.
The ballot shortage confirmed by the commission's own investigation was more widespread than first known. It also exposed serious gaps across election management.
According to what the commission disclosed that day, at 11:40 a.m. on the 3rd, the Songpa District Election Commission had already asked the Seoul City Election Commission about concerns over a ballot shortage and response plans. As for why proper action was not taken even by 6 p.m., the end of voting, the commission only said it was "looking into it." The commission said it has no manual on how to respond if ballots run short.
Responding to criticism that accidents keep occurring during election management, a commission official said, "This is a nationwide event in which more than 40 million voters participate at the same time," and added, "Please understand that, unavoidably, some incidents may occur in parts."
Below is a Q&A with a commission official.
- When was the first contact from the Songpa District Election Commission about a ballot shortage?
"Around 11:40, the Songpa District Election Commission also discussed countermeasures with the Seoul City Election Commission. After that, situations occurred simultaneously at multiple polling stations, and because there were not many commission staff and ballot counting was proceeding one after another, the response was delayed."
- Did you know and still respond late?
"Around 11:40, there was an inquiry from the Songpa District Election Commission to the Seoul City Election Commission on how to respond when ballots are in short supply. A few hours later, there were two instances of issuing ballots."
- If the problem was reported, why wasn't action taken immediately?
"That is the core of the fact-finding. There was a considerable time gap after the 11:40 contact, so it is natural to have questions. The fact-finding committee will verify the polling stations and time slots."
- Even after two issuances of ballots to Songpa, did the quantity remain insufficient?
"Around 2 to 3 p.m., unnumbered ballots were issued to Songpa in the first round, and as the situation continued to show shortages, we issued them again in a second round. It appears that even after that there were continued shortages, leading to incidents."
- What was the scale of ballots issued to Songpa?
"We have only some data by individual polling station. In the case of Garak 2-dong Polling Station No. 3 in Songpa District, 450 additional sheets were distributed. In this way, the quantities differed by polling station, but issuances continued at about that level."
- What is the plan for operating the fact-finding committee?
"We plan to compose it only of outside figures, not insiders. We will request recommendations of suitable candidates from academia, the media, the legal community, and civic groups, and as soon as recommendations are completed by around the 10th, we will form it. The fact-finding committee plans to complete its probe within 10 days and announce the results."
- Why did the apology statement come only after two days?
"Our position was that the ballot counting had to be wrapped up. In Songpa District, the final tabulation was only completed today."
- Will you cooperate with a police investigation or a special counsel?
"When investigations are conducted, we have never refused to provide internal materials. We plan to cooperate actively."
- Is there a manual on how to act when ballots run short urgently?
"General incident response is stipulated in the handbook. However, as for a case like this incident, I understand there is no specific provision. Since this incident occurred, we will refine it in more detail."
- With a high early voting rate, were there no objections to reducing the print quantity of ballots?
"Internal views were that the lower bound needed to be reduced. After drafting the TF research report, we shared it internally to hear from frontline staff and also sought opinions from city and provincial election commissions. I recall that most agreed in the process."
- Accidents keep occurring in election management.
"There are 14,288 polling stations nationwide and 3,571 early voting stations. Voting is managed at multiple sites, and this is a nationwide event in which more than 40 million of the population participate at the same time. Accidents should not occur, but please understand that unavoidably some may occur in parts."