The court conducted an on-site inspection on the 10th for evidence preservation at the Jamsil 7-dong No. 2 polling station in Songpa-gu, Seoul, where a shortage of ballot papers occurred during the 9th nationwide local elections held simultaneously (the June 3 local elections), but it ended empty-handed because items subject to preservation, including the ballot storage box, were not there.
Director General Judge Kim Ji-yeon of the Seoul Eastern District Court and related officials conducted the on-site inspection from around 3 p.m. that day at the senior center in Woosung Apartment, where the Jamsil 7-dong No. 2 polling station had been set up. It was a procedure following Judge Kim's partial acceptance the previous day of an application by Reform Party Supreme Council member Kim Jeong-cheol, who had been a Seoul mayoral candidate, to preserve evidence including ballot storage boxes.
However, the on-site inspection ended in about 30 minutes. This was because election supplies had already been cleared after the ballot box was taken out. Items subject to evidence preservation, including the ballot storage box marked "1,900 printed sheets," were also not there.
Kim, the Supreme Council member who accompanied the on-site inspection, said, "The inside had already been cleared," and added, "It is a serious problem because the National Election Commission said it does not know where the ballot storage box and other items are."
The ballot storage box subject to evidence preservation is cited as an item showing the commission's poor management. The number of printed ballot sheets written on the outside of the box was 1,900, and it was labeled 1 of 1 box. Considering that the number of voters at this polling station is 3,856, it means only 49.3% of the ballots were prepared, falling short of the "at least 50% printed" guideline.
Kim asked the National Election Commission for a fact inquiry regarding obligations to retain the items. Kim said, "Based on the commission's fact inquiry response, we will coordinate an additional evidence preservation application," adding, "I believe it is necessary to check the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium, where the Songpa-gu counting center was set up."
Kim added, "It is necessary to verify the count of unnumbered ballot papers and others," and said, "I believe the court will accept this."
Kim said the election objection petition could be filed as early as on the 15th as scheduled. An election objection petition is a remedy procedure in which, when there is an objection to the validity of an election or the election of a candidate, a review is requested from the National Election Commission before filing a lawsuit.
Kim said, "If we file the election objection, we will first receive a ruling within 60 days, and if it is not accepted there, we will go to the Supreme Court to clearly reveal what illegality occurred."