Songpa District Faces Unprecedented Chaos as Ballots Run Short, Leaving More Than 100 People in Disarray [The People’s Choice on June 3]

On the main voting day for the 9th nationwide local elections, voters began arriving at polling stations across Seoul early in the morning. As the so-called "open run" phenomenon appeared, with people lining up before voting began, everyone from elderly voters who came despite poor health to young couples visiting with their children cast their ballots with their own hopes in mind. At some polling stations, confusion also broke out because ballots ran short.
At exactly 6 a.m., when election officials announced the start of voting, voters went through identity checks, received their ballots, and headed to the booths. Inside the polling stations, there was some minor confusion as reporters and voters crowded in at once, and some citizens mistakenly thought the waiting line was something else and complained. The situation was soon brought under control by election officials.
Citizens also arrived early in the morning at the polling station at the Jongno 1, 2, 3, and 4-ga Community Service Center in Jongno District. The No. 6 Polling Station, Noryangjin 1-dong, set up at Bon-dong Elementary School in Dongjak-gu, also saw a steady stream of voters. Notices prohibiting ballot photography and damage were posted at the entrance to the polling stations.
As daytime temperatures rose to around 30 degrees Celsius, more citizens were seen using handheld fans and parasols.
Voters interviewed at the scene expressed hopes for local issues and everyday livelihoods. A couple in their 30s living in Dongjak-gu said, "We voted based on policies rather than colors or numbers." Elderly voters were also easy to spot. Im, 83, who came to a polling place in Jongno District with a cane, asked, "No matter what happens, isn't voting a voter's right?"
There were also calls for economic stability. Kim Yuisik, 60, a self-employed resident of Seodaemun District, stressed, "I hope this becomes a society where ordinary working people can sleep soundly without worry."
At some polling stations, including Jamsil 2-dong No. 6 Polling Station in Songpa District, ballots ran out, causing chaos as more than 100 people lined up. An NEC official said, "Ballots are printed in advance at a printing house and distributed to each polling station," adding, "They are allocated according to the number of people in each voting district, but an error may have occurred in that process."
The enthusiasm for voting was also strong in the regions. Choi, a voter in his 50s from Gyeonggi Province, said, "If you do nothing, nothing changes," and expressed hope that "one vote will make the world a little better."
In Gwangju Metropolitan City, Kim Jeong-ja, the city’s oldest voter in Dong-gu at 110 years old, visited the No. 2 Polling Place in Gyerim 1-dong, Dong-gu, with her daughter. Kim is said to have continued voting ever since the 1963 South Korean presidential election held on Oct. 15, 1963. A man in his 40s at a polling station in Daegu said, "I hope someone who can develop Daegu will be elected." A voter in his 60s at Gangnam No. 2 Polling Station, set up at Gangnam Elementary School in Jeongha-dong, Andong-si, North Gyeongsang Province, said, "We need politicians who can protect the identity of North Gyeongsang Province." In Ulsan Metropolitan City, a man in his 30s marked his ballot and then demanded, "I marked the wrong candidate, so please change the ballot." When his request was denied, he tore up the marked ballot, put it in his pocket, and tried to leave, but was stopped. Kim, a voter in her 50s who came to Ido 2-dong Polling Place No. 5 in Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, criticized the election cycle, saying, "Many promises are made every election, but what really matters is whether they can actually be carried out."
jyseo@fnnews.com Seo Ji-yoon, Choi Seung-han Reporter