Ballot verification continues late into the night... Observers spar over 'needle-sharp scrutiny' in the final stretch

[Financial News] At around 6:10 p.m. on the 28th, at Olympic Park Handball Stadium in Songpa District, Seoul, raised voices erupted at one counting station as an announcement asking for ballot-counting machines to be inspected rang out. Some observers protested the verification method and demanded to leave, and police were even deployed to mediate. In the end, four observers left the stadium at around 6:49 p.m. The special counsel team continued verification using the existing method, saying, "Observers cannot directly change the investigative procedures."
The special counsel team led by Lee Tae-han, which is investigating the ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections, conducted a public verification that day of approximately 2.47 million ballots from Songpa District, 147 days after election day. It began full-scale counting at around 2 p.m. and continued verification late into the night.
Forty counting stations, each equipped with four ballot-counting machines, were set up in the stadium. Election commission staff flipped through the ballots one by one, checked them visually and fed them into the machines, while observers wearing fluorescent vests checked the numbers and looked for irregularities. Ballots suspected of irregularities were sorted separately and subjected to detailed forensic examination using equipment from the National Forensic Service, among other tools.
Tension continued even after verification resumed at around 7 p.m. following dinner. People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk and Supreme Council member Kim Min-soo, among others, walked around the counting stations, inspecting ballots and storage boxes. At around 8:36 p.m. at one station, after they raised an objection to a ballot, designated camera operators photographed it from multiple angles. Party leader Jang also went to other counting stations and an aggregation station, checking inside and around the boxes.
Signs of fatigue from the lengthy work were also evident. Some staff looked at their phones or rested with their heads down on desks at counting stations where work had stopped. At other stations, observers continued to gather around boxes to discuss matters or ask special counsel officials to check them again.
At around 8:30 p.m., distribution of ballots for the Songpa District Council election's proportional representation seats was completed, and the last boxes of ballots for the Seoul superintendent of education election began to be moved to the counting stations. As of 9:40 p.m., the number of boxes yet to be distributed had fallen to around 10. Some at the scene predicted that verification could be completed as early as 10 or 11 p.m.
Ballots that had completed verification were stacked by election type near one of the stadium entrances. Hundreds of white storage boxes whose ballots had been counted were stacked there. Once verification is complete, the special counsel team plans to declare it finished and then proceed with loading and transporting the boxes.
Ballots confirmed to have no irregularities will be resealed and moved to a separate secure warehouse designated by the National Election Commission. According to the National Election Commission, the destination is a commission-managed facility in the Seoul metropolitan area, but its exact location has not been disclosed. Ballots suspected of irregularities are to undergo a separate detailed forensic examination and be used in future investigations.
Under Article 186 of the Public Official Election Act, transported ballots are generally kept for the duration of the winner's term in office. However, if no election lawsuit is filed, the retention period may be shortened under relevant regulations.
 



[email protected] Choi Eun-sol Reporter