"Why Is There a Yellow Spot on the Red Ink Stamp?" ... The Truth Behind Jeon Han-gil's Claim of 'Printed Ballots' [Fact, Check Check Check]

Input: 2026-07-30 19:00:00

Updated: 2026-07-30 19:00:00

At the recount for the Tongyeong mayoral election in South Gyeongsang Province's election commission office on the afternoon of the 27th, Jeon Han-gil, who took part as a ballot observer, recorded the scene on his mobile phone.

/ Photo = Yonhap News [Financial News] Jeon Han-gil, a conservative YouTuber and former Korean history instructor, has raised a new claim about 'fake ballots' at the Tongyeong mayoral election recount. He posted a video online showing him examining the ballots outside the recount venue with high-magnification equipment, while saying fake ballots had been found.

His claim is that the election stamp was not applied with red ink, but was instead 'printed. ' On the 28th, a video titled "Tongyeong mayoral recount in progress.

A batch of papers suspected to be fake ballots has been found, but the objection was ignored and the process is being forced through" was uploaded to Jeon Han-gil's YouTube channel. In the video, Jeon stressed that a hand-stamped mark shows only red, while a printed stamp mark shows yellow and red dots together when viewed through high-magnification equipment.

He said, "You can confirm it with a magnifying glass, but the election commission is blocking it. " The claim in the video was half right and half wrong.

Although the video appears to show actual ballots, online users quickly pointed out that the material filmed was something Jeon had made himself. Jeon Han-gil: 'Found fake ballots printed in three or four colors' Jeon Han-gil examines what he says is evidence of 'printed' ballots with magnification equipment in a YouTube video uploaded on the 28th.

He emphasized that printed election stamps contain dots such as yellow, shown in the blue circle below. / Photo = YouTube capture Jeon argued that when ballots are examined with magnification equipment, a hand-stamped mark shows only red, while a printed stamp contains a mix of yellow and red dots.

He said this was a feature of three- or four-color printing. This appears to refer to the CMYK printing method, which combines cyan, magenta, yellow and black.

The claim was made on the 27th at the recount for the Tongyeong mayoral election's election petition hearing, held at the Gyeongnam Provincial Election Commission, where Jeon attended as an observer for People Power Party candidate Cheon Young-gi. The recount was held after Cheon, who lost to Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidate Kang Seok-ju by 44 votes in the June 3 local elections, filed an election petition alleging possible errors by the ballot sorting machine.

Jeon claimed the stamp marks might have been printed rather than applied with ink, pointing to the fact that the stamp did not show through to the back of the ballot. He asked to use the magnification equipment he had brought, but the election commission refused, saying the device had not been verified.

Jeon later filmed outside the recount venue and claimed, "Three hours after the recount began, we found a batch suspected to be fake ballots, but it was not accepted. " He shone the magnification equipment on two sheets of paper and said, "A hand-stamped mark shows only red even when magnified, but the one next to it shows yellow and red dots," adding that it was "printed, not stamped by the voter.

" He also claimed, "I brought equipment and raised an objection, but it was not accepted. When I tried to raise the issue further, they said they would call the police for obstructing the recount, so I am informing the public from outside.

" "Secured materials on election fraud" . a suspicion that became accepted as truth Jeon's video spread rapidly as if printed ballots had actually been found at the recount site.

The video drew more than 4,000 comments, including remarks such as "It is clearly visible when enlarged," "The National Forensic Service needs to verify this," and "Evidence of election fraud secured. " Many commenters also identified themselves as people working in printing-related fields.

Comments included, "I have worked in printing for 40 years. This is 100% printing," and "I have been a graphic designer for 35 years.

It is 100% printing (original red + yellow), offset printing. " Posts on online communities also spread, saying, "Printed ballots were found" and "Even though a three-color printed ballot appeared, the election commission took no action," fueling reactions that accepted Jeon's claim as fact.

One internet user wrote on a conservative online community, "Watching Jeon Han-gil's YouTube, they say some ballots appeared to be printed rather than stamped with ink," adding, "As expected, they do not report this. The tone of the articles is exactly the same as during the Incheon election nullification lawsuit, which is chilling.

" Ignored objections . "It was not a fake ballot, but something Jeon prepared" The paper with the election stamp shown in Jeon's comparison video outside the recount venue was not an actual ballot, but two A4 sheets of paper.

An election commission official said, "This is paper that could not have come from the recount site," adding, "It is not a ballot, and it is difficult to determine its purpose from the video alone. " Each sheet shows two tables arranged side by side in a grid of four columns and six rows.

A total of 47 cells, excluding the first one, bear election stamps. The stamps on the two sheets are placed in the same position and at the same angle.

Online users explained, "The paper on the right is a comparison sample Jeon printed out from the original on the left," and "This does not mean printed ballots were found at the recount site. " Another user clarified the facts, saying, "What Jeon Han-gil is saying is that we should check it under a microscope.

It does not mean that yellow ink appeared when actual ballots were enlarged. " That is also why his claim was described as "half right and half wrong.

" The yellow dots seen in the video appeared because he filmed a printed sample, not because the same phenomenon was confirmed on ballots from the Tongyeong mayoral recount. Questions were also put to Jeon's side, but no response has been received so far.

An 11-hour recount . the vote gap narrowed from 44 to 38 On the 27th, officials from the Gyeongnam Provincial Election Commission speak before the recount of the Tongyeong mayoral election, where the outcome was decided by a 44-vote margin in the June 3 local elections, in the conference room of the Gyeongnam Provincial Election Commission in Seongsan District, Changwon, Gyeongnam.

Former Tongyeong Mayor Cheon Young-gi, the People Power Party candidate who requested the recount, is speaking. / Photo = News1 The recount lasted about 11 hours due to repeated objections from the petitioner side and a manual ballot verification process.

According to officials at the scene, Jeon was the most active person in raising objections. The election commission explained that a recount is not simply a matter of counting votes again, but a process of rejudging valid and invalid ballots.

It said that when ballot colors are clearly different or an objective problem is identified, objections from observers are accepted and verification is carried out. However, it said the magnification equipment Jeon requested was a private device that had not been verified, so its use was not allowed.

It also said no basis was found to conclude that the ballots were printed.

On the claim that the stamp did not show through to the back of the ballot, the commission said, "The extent to which ink seeps through can vary depending on the force used to press the stamp, the amount of ink, the condition of the stamp, and the length of contact.

Therefore, the fact that ink is not visible on the back cannot by itself be taken as proof of printing.

" As a result of the recount, Kang Seok-ju kept his original total of 33,626 votes, while Cheon Young-gi's total rose by six votes, from 33,582 to 33,588, as some invalid ballots were recognized as valid.

The gap between the two candidates narrowed from 44 votes to 38, but the election result did not change.

A recount through an election petition .

if rejected, a lawsuit under Article 222 The fact that Jeon's request was not accepted during the recount does not mean that further verification is blocked.

Article 219 of the Public Official Election Act allows an election petition to be filed when there is an objection to a local government head election, and the Tongyeong mayoral recount was also conducted under this procedure.

If a petitioner disagrees with the decision, Article 222 allows an election lawsuit to be filed with the competent High Court within 10 days of receiving the decision.

By contrast, presidential and National Assembly elections can be taken directly to the Supreme Court of Korea for an election lawsuit within 30 days of the election date, without going through the election petition process.

If the court deems it necessary, it can carry out additional verification, such as forensic examination or experiments, using actual ballots.

Therefore, if Jeon's side believes the actual Tongyeong mayoral ballots were printed, it must identify those ballots in the lawsuit and request an objective examination, rather than relying on a comparison sample video.

A representative example is the so-called "Rising Sun flag ballot" case.

Former United Future Party lawmaker Min Kyung-wook filed an election nullification lawsuit after the 21st National Assembly election, and the Supreme Court of Korea conducted a 22-hour recount of the preserved ballot boxes.

At the time, ballots whose stamps had blurred and looked like a Rising Sun flag were classified as some invalid votes, but the Supreme Court did not recognize them as evidence of election fraud.

In the end, what remains to prove Jeon's claim is a court-ordered forensic examination and verification process using the actual ballots.

From legacy media to YouTube and social media, the way people consume content has become more diverse.

At the same time, we are living in an age flooded with fake news and misinformation.

[Fact, Check Check Check] is committed to factism down to its bones.It investigates the truth behind controversial news and rumors, and checks the facts."Is this news real?" We welcome tips from our readers.

[email protected] Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter

· This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.

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