[SPOTLIGHT]26/06/05 South Korean police clear election protesters after ballot shortag

[성기화 요셉]

The protesters blockaded a Seoul polling station for 35 hours after ballot shortages during local elections and demanded a rerun 

Protesters call for the suspension of ballot counting due to a shortage of ballot papers outside a counting station in Seoul on June 5 (Photo: AFP)

By AFP, Seoul

Published: June 05, 2026 08:50 AM GMT

Updated: June 05, 2026 08:56 AM GMT

South Korean riot police cleared protesters on June 5 from a Seoul polling station after a 35-hour blockade sparked by a shortage of ballot papers during local elections earlier this week.

The June 3 election was the first nationwide vote since President Lee Jae Myung took office following the ouster of Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law declaration.

Lee's ruling Democratic Party swept most races but failed to flip the crucial Seoul mayoral seat.

The National Election Commission (NEC) apologised, blaming a failure to anticipate turnout after 14 polling stations in Seoul ran short of ballot papers.

Some polling stations stayed open until 10 pm (1300 GMT) to accommodate voters, but the move did little to quell criticism of the commission's handling of the election.

Protesters holding signs that read "Stop the vote count" and "Invalidate the election" blocked authorities in Seoul's Jamsil 7-dong district from removing two ballot boxes.

A gathering of several dozen people on election night swelled to more than 1,000 protesters by June 4, Yonhap reported.

Polling station staff were forced to remain inside until June 5 morning, according to KBS.

The boxes, containing about 2,000 ballots, were secured and transported to a counting centre after the riot police intervened on June 5 morning, an official from the Korean National Police Agency told AFP.

Livestream footage showed police physically removing demonstrators blocking entrances to the polling station, with some protesters shouting and resisting.

Heated exchanges followed, with one man shouting, "Is this really a country governed by the rule of law?" as officers repeatedly ordered demonstrators to clear the way.

President Lee on June 4 ordered an investigation into the ballot shortage, condemning "a flaw that is difficult to accept".

People Power Party (PPP) leader Jang Dong-hyeok, whose party suffered a heavy local election defeat after Yoon's martial law declaration, visited the NEC on June 4 and said the election should be rerun.

Fundamental responsibility

After declaring martial law, former president Yoon -- now jailed and on trial for insurrection -- claimed the NEC had ignored warnings about North Korean threats to voter data and failed to cooperate fully with intelligence agency inspections.

Yoon's claims resonated with right-wing YouTubers and supporters, who went on to spread unverified election fraud theories and question the commission's credibility.

"The fundamental responsibility lies with the election commission. It made an absurd mistake," Lee Jae-mook, a political science professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, told AFP.

"There was already a degree of public distrust toward the election commission, and this has only poured fuel on the fire. I think it is inevitable that various suspicions and allegations will emerge."