"As Soon as Oh Se-hoon Was Elected, Talk of a By-Election Vanished" ... 'Election Fraud Believers' Now Push Conspiracy Theories Targeting the People Power Party

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[Financial News] After an unprecedented incident on June 3, the main voting day for the local elections, in which voting was suspended at some polling stations in Seoul because of a shortage of ballots, the People Power Party, which had demanded a halt to vote counting and a by-election, changed its tone after the final Seoul mayoral count was released.
As Oh Se-hoon overturned exit poll predictions from the three major terrestrial broadcasters and won a fifth term as Seoul Metropolitan City Mayor, voices calling for election fraud and a by-election quickly faded.
An unexpected situation has since unfolded. Online, election fraud believers are criticizing the People Power Party leadership's moves, while others are arguing that the party has effectively conceded the election.
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On June 3, the day of the main vote, some polling stations in Songpa District, Gangnam District, and Gwangjin District in Seoul temporarily suspended voting or extended voting hours because they ran out of ballots. The People Power Party strongly protested, calling it a serious matter that undermined the fairness of the election.
At an emergency press conference, People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok said, "The Seoul election is already a tainted election. A tainted election is invalid," and argued, "Vote counting must be stopped immediately until the facts are confirmed, and the Seoul election should be held again depending on the results of the investigation."
He said, "There were voters who gave up on voting while waiting for ballots, and there may also have been voters who gave up after seeing related news," adding, "We cannot rule out the possibility that voters who cast ballots after 6 p.m. may have voted after seeing the exit poll results."
Oh Se-hoon also stated, "Vote counting should be suspended until preemptive measures are completed for areas where people could not vote because of the ballot shortage," and added, "Not even one person's right to vote should be infringed."
Song Eon-seok, the People Power Party's Joint Election Campaign Committee Co-Chair, also called for a halt to vote counting and a postponement of the election, saying, "It is questionable whether proper management was carried out during the rushed transfer of ballots from other locations."
At the time, exit polls from the three major broadcasters showed Jeong Won-oh of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leading Oh Se-hoon by 5.4 percentage points, intensifying the People Power Party's offensive.
But after the actual count showed Oh making a late comeback and winning a fifth term as Seoul Metropolitan City Mayor, the party's messaging began to change.
After the count, Jang wrote on his social networking service (SNS), "It was a disappointing election result," and added, "I congratulate everyone who won." He went on to say, "We have kept the embers of hope alive," and "We will heed the people's mandate to protect the lives of the people and the Republic of Korea."
Na Kyung-won and Kim Eun-hye, who had immediately called for "an immediate halt to vote counting and a declaration of a by-election" after the election, have since remained silent without issuing separate messages.
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Online opinion is reacting quickly to the changes inside the People Power Party. In particular, criticism of the party leadership is continuing in open chat rooms and online communities run by hardline conservative supporters who have raised allegations of election fraud.
Some users reacted by saying, "They claimed there was vote manipulation in Seoul and demanded a revote, but once the result changed, talk of a recount disappeared," "So if Oh Se-hoon wins, it's not election fraud, but if he loses, it is?" and "Those who demanded a by-election are now silent after the result came out."
Conspiracy theories also emerged.
Some online posts even claimed, "Oh Se-hoon won because they were afraid we would demand a recount," "(The DPK) is trying to bury the controversy with Oh's victory," and "It seems the side trying to hide election fraud allegations made a deal with the People Power Party. Who is that ID?"
In open chat rooms created to monitor election fraud during the local elections, some users also attacked Jang Dong-hyeok for effectively accepting the election result based on conspiracy theories.
Criticism also continued, with comments such as, "Jang Dong-hyeok has conceded the election result," "Jang Dong-hyeok is worse than Han Dong-hoon," and "When will the Jang supporters wake up?"
The Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission has not yet been able to formally confirm the winners for Seoul Metropolitan City Mayor, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, and other races because the ballot box from Jamsil 7-dong Polling Place No. 2 in Songpa District has not yet been counted.
y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter