Political situation in South Korea

The ballots ran out – now South Korea is changing the system

Last week, some South Korean voters had to wait for several hours at polling stations to cast their votes in the local elections. This was after the ballots ran out.

The election authority had ordered ballots that would be enough for everyone if 73 percent of those eligible to vote went to the premises. The figure was based on previous participation, but this year the interest turned out to be greater.

On Monday, the presidential office announced that the system is now being changed, to prevent similar situations from occurring again.

President Lee Jae Myung has held an emergency meeting with the speaker of parliament and the courts to discuss the mistake. A statement from the presidential office says that they discussed how to resolve the “constitutional crisis”.

Continued protests after South Korean election campaign

On Monday, people gathered in the South Korean capital Seoul to show their dissatisfaction with the election campaign last week. The election authority had miscalculated the local elections and many voters had to wait for several hours when the ballots ran out.

Song Jun Hyeok, 42, went out to protest with his girlfriend Yang Seo-Kyung and their one-year-old son.

“We came in the hope of a better world for our children,” he told Chosun Daily.

Since the paper miss last Wednesday, large protests against the incident have been organized. Some protesters are demanding a re-election and others are accusing the authorities of contributing to voter fraud.

President Lee Jae Myung has apologized and promised to improve the system.