Conservative group in Gwanghwamun calls for annulment of June 3 local elections, demands rerun

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[Financial News] A conservative rally was held in Gwanghwamun, where participants called for a rerun of the election, claiming the June 3 local elections were invalid.
The National Movement Headquarters for Rebuilding the Republic of Korea held the "June 6 Gwanghwamun National Rally" around 11 a.m. on the 6th near Exit 6 of Gwanghwamun Station in Seoul.
Participants occupied about 200 meters of lanes on Sejong-daero and held signs reading "Election invalid" and "Arrest and investigate the NEC," while chanting slogans such as "The June 3 local elections were rigged" and "Hold a rerun." Some waved large South Korean flags or draped them over their shoulders, and sang the national anthem and hymns to live band music. Others stood out as well, including participants using umbrellas printed with both the South Korean flag and the Stars and Stripes to escape the scorching sun, young parents holding children, and older attendees wearing Marine Corps uniforms.
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As time passed, the crowd grew larger, and at one point there were not enough chairs. Participants also filled the sidewalk beside the road. Earlier, the organizers had notified police of a rally of up to 50,000 people on May 8.
Before the main rally began, the master of ceremonies on stage said, "Fraud occurred in the June 3 local elections, and our voting rights were trampled." He added, "The freedom of the Republic of Korea is disappearing, and there is a serious risk that the country will ultimately move toward communism."
Other speakers also called for a rerun and an investigation into the NEC, citing ballot shortages in areas including Songpa District in Seoul. Park Tae-hwan, speaking as a youth representative, said, "Election fraud that we had been forced to ignore because there was no way to prove it has finally revealed its true form." He added, "The liberal democratic system in which the people choose and control state power has collapsed, and the people have been stripped of their voting rights. A rerun must be held."
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Lee Gang-san, deputy secretary-general of the Liberal Unification Party, also said, "A government that leaves the NEC in place after it trampled the election, the flower of democracy, is a destroyer of democracy even worse than the ringleader of a rebellion." He added, "The National Assembly should step in and push for a special counsel on the NEC. If the ruling party continues to block it, it will face the people’s stern anger."
Kim Seong-jin, honorary professor at Pusan National University and speaking as the representative of a security civic group, also raised allegations of election fraud and stressed the need for a rerun. Kim claimed that ballots listing a different number of candidates were found in the Seoul mayoral election and said, "In several countries, including Germany and Austria, reruns have been held due to ballot shortages or problems in the vote-counting process. This incident is an international embarrassment, so a rerun is the answer."
Elsewhere at the scene, speakers also hurled crude criticism at President Lee Jae-myung and made remarks defending former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law.
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psh@fnnews.com Park Seong-hyeon Reporter