"Hold a Re-election"... Protesters Blocked the Jamsil 7-dong Polling Place Overnight

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[Financial News] More than 300 protesters gathered overnight in front of Jamsil 7-dong Polling Place No. 2 in Songpa District, Seoul, where a ballot shortage occurred in the June 3 local elections, blocking election officials from removing ballot boxes. They are calling for a re-election, claiming the vote was fraudulent.
According to Yonhap News Agency and others on the 4th, the protesters have surrounded the entrance to Jamsil 7-dong Polling Place No. 2, set up at the senior citizens' hall of Woosung Apartment in Songpa District, for more than seven hours, continuing their demonstration while chanting slogans such as "fraudulent election," "stop the count," and "re-election."
Jamsil 7-dong Polling Place No. 2 was one of the polling stations where ballots ran out in an unprecedented incident during this local election. As a result, voting at the site was extended until 10 p.m. for those who had received verification slips from the voter registry.
The protesters, made up of conservative YouTubers and citizens, blocked the entrance throughout the night. Even after the Seoul Metropolitan City Election Commission officially confirmed the end of voting at 11:50 p.m. the previous day, it was unable to send two ballot boxes to the counting center for about five hours.
At 4:27 a.m., the Seoul Metropolitan City Election Commission said in a statement, "We have decided not to force the transfer of the ballot box from Jamsil 7-dong Polling Place No. 2."
The commission said it would not proceed with the transfer because of concerns over a possible physical clash. However, it also said the transfer itself had not been abandoned, as the ballot boxes still need to be moved to the counting center for the vote count.
Initially, the Seoul Metropolitan City Election Commission tried to remove the ballot boxes with police assistance, but that proved difficult. Riot police were deployed in front of the polling place, but they withdrew outside the apartment complex around 2 a.m. and are now only maintaining a standby posture.
Meanwhile, lawmakers from the People Power Party, including Kim Jae-seop and Kim Eun-hye, visited the scene and voiced their protests.
Separately, the National Election Commission (NEC) issued its official position on the ballot shortage incident.
At an emergency meeting held around midnight, the NEC said, "This does not qualify as grounds for postponing the election or holding a re-election under the Public Official Election Act," and added, "It is not possible to suspend the ongoing vote count."
newssu@fnnews.com Kim Su-yeon Reporter