President Lee Jae Myung strongly criticized the recent “ballot shortage incident” during the local election early and main voting periods at his first-anniversary press conference, stating, “This is an absurd incident that tarnished the reputation of advanced South Korea and a model democratic nation in an instant.” The president defined the incident as a violation of sovereignty and a flaw in the constitutional system, announcing that a joint investigation team has begun a criminal investigation and that emergency meetings with national figures are underway to establish fundamental countermeasures.
In response to a question from a reporter for Singapore’s *The Straits Times* about protests related to the local elections and measures to address the ballot shortage, President Lee reiterated his regret, calling the incident “shocking enough to be unimaginable even for countries with low levels of democratic development,” following his remarks from the previous day.
President Lee particularly praised young people and university student council leaders who took to the streets in anger over the incident. He admitted, “Initially, I also thought nonchalantly, ‘A dozen or so people couldn’t vote, and it wouldn’t affect the results…’” but added, “However, upon hearing the youths’ criticisms, I reflected that my own sensitivity to national sovereignty—my ‘sovereignty sensibility’—had significantly diminished.”
The president emphasized, “This issue is not about the number of votes or election results. It is a fundamental problem of principle: in the democratic republic of South Korea, the state carelessly and haphazardly blocked citizens from exercising their sovereignty without proper measures.” He continued, “This is completely different from the ‘election fraud instigators’ who distort facts for political purposes. I am rather grateful to the youths for awakening us to the principles we almost overlooked.”
President Lee harshly criticized the incompetence and structural closedness of the National Election Commission (NEC), which allowed the crisis to persist. He stated, “Reports of ballot shortages began at 2 p.m., yet no measures were taken. It was so pathetic that one might wonder if it was done intentionally.”
He specifically targeted the NEC’s independence, which exempts it from audits by the Board of Audit and Inspection. “As a constitutionally independent body, the NEC does not undergo audits, and the executive branch can only allocate its budget without any involvement in its operations,” he noted, highlighting the structural blind spot.
With no possibility of an internal audit by the executive branch, President Lee opted for a “judicial process.” He stated, “At the very least, shouldn’t we uncover the truth—whether this was intentional?” He added, “As complaints have already been filed, I have mobilized all available administrative authority to form a joint investigation team and ordered a swift, robust probe to determine potential criminal charges.”
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