BALLOT SHORTAGES IN SEOUL
The vote was marred by disruption in parts of Seoul, where ballot papers ran out at multiple polling stations amid higher-than-expected turnout.
The shortages, reported at more than a dozen polling stations, forced some voters to wait hours or leave without casting ballots, with voting extended at affected sites.
The incident triggered protests by some voters and conservative groups, with PPP figures – before it became clear they were on track to retain the Seoul mayoralty – gathering outside the NEC to call for a halt to vote counting and a rerun of the race, arguing it had been “tainted”.
The NEC apologised and said it would conduct a full investigation, but said the incidents did not constitute grounds for delaying the election or holding a rerun.
Voters on Wednesday cast ballots for mayors and governors in 16 cities and provinces in a contest widely seen as a report card on Lee’s administration and a test of whether conservatives could regroup after the fallout from former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed 2024 martial law bid.
Before the vote, the PPP controlled 12 of the 16 local governments, but early results indicated it was still set to lose ground overall despite holding on in the capital.
The Democratic Party was making inroads across the country, including in Busan, a traditionally conservative stronghold, pointing to continued voter support for Lee’s economic and reform agenda.
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