Shortages of Ballot Papers and Disruptions at Polling Stations Continue... 399 Election-Related 112 Calls Received [Full Report]

[Financial News] On the 3rd, when the 9th Nationwide Local Elections were held, confusion of various kinds continued across the country, including shortages of ballot papers and disruptions at polling stations.
According to the National Police Agency, a total of 399 election-related 112 calls were received between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. that day. By category, interference with voting and disturbances accounted for the largest share at 66 cases, followed by 29 traffic complaints, 3 assaults, and 301 other reports, including mistaken calls.
In Seoul, there were also incidents involving damaged ballot papers and assaults inside polling stations. In Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, around 2:43 p.m., a man in his 50s allegedly damaged a ballot paper after saying, "I threw it away because there was a candidate I didn't know on the ballot," and left the scene. Police are expected to launch an investigation.
In Dongjak-gu, around 3:27 p.m., a man in his 80s was arrested at the scene on charges of elbowing the neck of the head of the administrative complaints team while arguing with election officials, saying, "Why are civil servants managing the ballot papers?" Police said they will examine whether to apply charges of obstruction of official duties.
At some polling stations in Songpa-gu, voters faced confusion and long waits as ballot papers ran short. According to the National Election Commission (NEC) and local governments, ballot papers were exhausted at some polling stations, including the No. 6 Polling Place in Jamsil 2-dong and the No. 5 Polling Place in Jamsil 4-dong, prompting the NEC to urgently transport additional supplies.
Ballot papers were reportedly being supplied in batches of 50 to 100, but confusion persisted at the scene over distribution standards and timing.
Some voters also expressed concern, saying, "What if we can't vote?"
The NEC said the shortage occurred because turnout was higher than expected, leaving some polling stations without enough prepared ballot papers.
Meanwhile, police issued a Level A Emergency Alert at all police stations nationwide from 6 a.m. until the end of vote counting. A total of 65,369 police officers were deployed to 14,288 polling stations and 258 counting centers nationwide to ensure the safety of voting and ballot counting. As of 5 p.m., nationwide turnout, including early voting, stood at 57.4 percent, 9.8 percentage points higher than at the same time during the 8th Nationwide Local Elections.

yesji@fnnews.com Kim Ye-ji Reporter