South Korea's Ballot Shortage Was Mismanagement, Not Fraud

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In South Korea's nationwide local elections held on June 3, an unprecedented administrative failure occurred when many polling stations ran out of ballot papers, disrupting voting.

However, it is important to understand that this was not a case of fraud involving outside forces deliberately interfering in the election. Rather, it was the result of poor management by the National Election Commission.

In South Korea, conspiracy theorists who claim that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) interferes in the country's vote-counting process continue to maintain a significant following. They are now trying to use this incident as an opportunity to spread their claims.

More troubling is that some conservatives in the United States have developed ties with these conspiracy theorists.

Recently, the US Senate and House Armed Services Committees included the CCP's influence in South Korea among their areas of review for the first time. 

This has prompted concerns that lobbying by conspiracy theorists may have played a role. That is precisely why an accurate understanding of the facts is essential.

Protests Over Ballot Shortages

According to South Korea's National Election Commission, additional ballot papers were dispatched to 140 of the country's 14,288 polling stations (0.98%) where shortages were anticipated. 

Of those, 91 polling stations (0.64%) actually used the additional ballots. A total of 7,194 extra ballots were used, including 4,206 in Seoul.

Voting was temporarily suspended at 26 polling stations (0.18%), with interruptions ranging from 4 to 105 minutes. It has been confirmed that some voters who arrived during the suspension gave up and went home without voting. However, the number was not large enough to affect the election results.

At several polling stations in Seoul's Songpa District, voting hours were extended until after 10 PM, by which time television stations had already begun broadcasting election results.

One of those polling stations was surrounded by protesters, preventing election officials from transporting the ballot box to the counting center at the Olympic Park gymnasium. 

The ballot box was finally delivered under police protection on June 5, and the count was completed, but protests outside the gymnasium continued.

The polling stations that ran short of ballots were concentrated in conservative-leaning districts, leading some to suspect that the shortages had been deliberately orchestrated. The reality, however, was different.

Poor Management

Voter turnout in this local election reached 61%, far exceeding the 50% turnout in the previous election. The election commission failed to anticipate such a high turnout.

Because advance voting had already reached a record 23.5%, the commission concluded that election day turnout would not exceed 50%. It therefore prepared enough ballots for only half of the registered voters in each electoral district.

Unlike Japan, where voters handwrite a candidate's name, South Korean voters simply stamp a ballot with the printed name of their chosen candidate. This means ballots must be printed in advance for each electoral district.

In previous elections, ballot papers for 60% of registered voters were prepared for election day voting. This time, however, the number was reduced to 50%, reportedly to prevent election-fraud conspiracy theorists from claiming that unused ballots were evidence of fraud.

South Korea has two voting methods: advance voting and election day voting. Advance voting tends to be favored by left-leaning voters, while election day voting is more popular among conservatives.

The former allows people to vote at government offices outside their home electoral district, making it convenient for students and working-age adults, demographics that generally lean left.

Election day voting, by contrast, is more commonly used by retirees, who tend to lean conservative. In addition, conspiracy theories claiming that advance voting is vulnerable to fraud have led many conservative voters to deliberately choose election day voting.

As a result, conservative areas saw relatively high numbers of election day voters, making ballot shortages more likely there. 

Conspiracy Theorists Hijack the Protests

Spontaneous demonstrations criticizing the National Election Commission broke out after the election. At the time of writing, 20 days after the vote, protests outside the Olympic Park gymnasium were still continuing day and night.

Initially, the demonstrations consisted mainly of ordinary citizens angered by the commission's poor management. Over time, however, election-fraud conspiracy theorists came to dominate the protests.

When I visited the site on June 13, demonstrators were chanting slogans such as "Election Fraud," "Hold a New Election," "Election Day Voting," and "Manual Vote Counting."

Many carried not only South Korean flags but also American flags. Some held signs in English reading, "Stop the Steal." These are all hallmarks of South Korea's election-fraud conspiracy movement.

The slogan "Election Day Voting" reflects the conspiracy theory that advance voting should be abolished because it is susceptible to fraud, despite there being no evidence to support that claim.

The slogan "Manual Vote Counting" stems from the conspiracy theory that countries such as China hacked the National Election Commission's computers to manipulate vote counts. 

In reality, South Korea's ballots are counted manually rather than by computer. Nevertheless, conspiracy theorists continue to ignore these facts.

Their use of American flags also reflects their belief that because supporters of Donald Trump alleged fraud in the 2020 presidential election, similar fraud must be occurring in South Korea and that the United States will therefore support their cause.

President Warns Against Disinformation

The gymnasium surrounded by protesters also houses the offices of nine national sports federations under the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, including the handball and fencing associations.

Protesters have blocked staff from entering and leaving the building, while police have largely refrained from intervening, causing serious disruptions to operations.

Preparations for sending South Korea's national team to the Asian Games in Nagoya this September have also been affected.

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee has held a press conference calling for authorities to restore order.

President Lee Jae-myung also stated on June 19 that, while public anger over the Election Commission's poor management should be respected as a legitimate expression of citizens' rights, authorities must pursue "illegal acts of violence and fake news that exploit that anger to the end, and those responsible must be held accountable."

Police are expected to intervene soon to restore normal operations for the sports organizations. When that happens, significant clashes could occur and attract widespread media attention.

However, it is important not to lose sight of the central fact: this was not election fraud, but a scandal caused by poor election administration.

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Author: Tsutomu Nishioka

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