Ballot shortage tests trust in Korea's election system: US expert

A participant waves a South Korean flag inside the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Seoul's Songpa District on Jun. 9 as protests demanding a reelection continue over ballot shortages during the Jun. 3 local elections. Yonhap

SEATTLE — A ballot shortage that disrupted voting during South Korea's recent local elections could have longer-lasting consequences for public confidence in the country's electoral system, according to a U.S. scholar of Korean politics.

The controversy deepened Thursday when police raided the National Election Commission (NEC) and several local election offices as part of an investigation into ballot shortages that temporarily suspended voting at 26 polling stations nationwide during the June 3 local elections.

More than 100 investigators took part in searches of seven locations, including the NEC headquarters in Gwacheon and local election offices in Seoul that experienced shortages. Police are investigating possible election law violations and dereliction of duty, while former NEC Chairman Rho Tae-ak, who resigned over the incident, has reportedly been listed as a suspect.

The shortages sparked days of protests by demonstrators demanding a rerun of the elections, though election officials have maintained that the incident does not constitute grounds for a revote.

Celeste Arrington, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University who specializes in comparative politics, social movements, law and civil society in South Korea and Japan, told The Korea Times that the controversy raises concerns about public confidence in election administration.

Arrington noted that the controversy has unfolded amid the emergence of "stop the steal" discourse in South Korea, a reference to election-fraud narratives that gained prominence in the United States after the 2020 presidential election.

"In light of past allegations of election manipulation and/or fraud and the emergence of 'stop the steal' discourse in Korea, the ballot shortage seriously undermined public confidence in the authorities administering the election," Arrington said.

She noted that South Korean voters traditionally turn out at high rates and have strong expectations that their votes will count. This year's local elections recorded the second-highest turnout in the history of local elections.

"Turning out to vote is behavior that signals voters' sense of political efficacy and their belief in the legitimacy of the process," she said.

If confidence in the electoral process is weakened, some voters may become less likely to participate in future elections or may seek other forms of political engagement, Arrington said.

She stressed that the NEC should be held accountable and its procedures reviewed regardless of whether the shortages resulted from negligence, misconduct or poor planning.

"Public confidence in the process is critical for sustaining democratic participation," she said.

Without a thorough accounting of what happened and clear measures to prevent similar problems in the future, she said, distrust surrounding the elections could continue to fuel protests and further erode confidence in the democratic process.