A South Korean special counsel has asked the election commission to preserve 420 Songpa ballot boxes after reviewing all 2.47 million ballots cast in Songpa Ward, leaving them available for possible follow-up examination, The Korea Herald reported Friday.
The request concerns boxes that drew no objections during the inspection at Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Seoul. Lee Tae-han’s team removed them from the venue Thursday after examining ballots cast in Songpa Ward in the June 3 local elections. EconoTimes previously covered the team’s planned inspection of the ballots and election equipment.
The National Election Commission (NEC) said it received 420 boxes at a storage facility in the capital region. The Korea Herald reported that election law calls for the ballots to remain stored through the elected officials’ terms.
The team kept the other 13 boxes for additional examination after on-site observers raised objections, The Korea Herald reported. Some are expected to be examined by the National Forensic Service, the outlet said.
The investigation concerns unprecedented ballot shortages on election day that left some voters unable to cast ballots, according to The Korea Herald. Protesters had blocked the boxes’ removal from the gymnasium since June, seeking accountability and a rerun of the elections, the outlet reported. The special counsel’s request leaves open a further review of the 420 boxes.
