At the No. 2 polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, where a shortage of ballot papers occurred during the 9th nationwide local elections held simultaneously (the June 3 local elections), protesters gathered in front of the site have been blocking the National Election Commission's removal of ballot boxes for more than 10 hours.
As of 8 a.m. on the 4th, residents and YouTubers had surrounded the entrance to the No. 2 polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, set up at the senior center of the Woosung Apartment complex in Songpa-gu. They repeatedly shouted slogans such as "rigged election" and "dissolve the National Election Commission."
Some people left for work and other reasons, but new people kept joining. A resident said, "I couldn't sleep all night," and there were moments of shouting during the protests, but no major clashes had occurred.
The Seoul City National Election Commission officially confirmed the close of voting at about 11:50 p.m. the previous day. However, two ballot boxes from the No. 2 polling station in Jamsil 7-dong have not been moved to the counting center. In principle, to proceed with the count, the ballot boxes must be sent to the counting center.
In a statement issued early that morning, the Seoul City National Election Commission said it "decided not to forcibly proceed with transporting the ballot boxes from the No. 2 polling station in Jamsil 7-dong." Protesters, however, urged people to watch not only the entrance but also the surrounding area, saying authorities could lull them into complacency and remove the boxes via another route.
At the No. 2 polling station in Jamsil 7-dong and elsewhere, the ballot paper shortage the previous day left some voters who came to the polls with no choice but to turn back. The commission extended the closing time for those at the No. 2 polling station in Jamsil 7-dong who had received a voter registry verification slip from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. the previous day.