South Korean president orders probe into local election ballot shortages

Thousands demand re-run after ballot shortage stops eligible voters from casting ballots

A demonstrator waves a large South Korean flag as people surround a vote-counting centre to protest a controversy over a shortage of ballot papers that disrupted voting in the local election and to call for a rerun of the election, in Seoul, South Korea, Jun 6, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called on Sunday for a thorough investigation into a ballot shortage that disrupted recent local elections, saying prosecutors and police would be involved.

"As one citizen and as the president responsible for the government, I express deep regret," Lee said in an X post.

Last week’s local elections were hit by a ballot shortage that prevented some eligible voters from casting ballots. The head of the National Election Commission (NEC), the independent body that oversaw the vote, resigned after the incident.

Thousands have since protested outside a ballot-counting site in Seoul, demanding a re-run.

Opposition Calls for Joint Audit

Lee said the incident was "difficult to comprehend" and that the NEC's response and explanations were insufficient. He said he had asked parliament to conduct a fact-finding probe, establish measures to prevent a repeat and discuss reform plans for the commission.

Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the opposition conservative People Power Party, told a press conference on Sunday that he had visited the protests and called for a joint audit with Lee's Democratic Party.

He said ballot shortages were especially severe in areas that lean conservative, but stopped short of calling for a re-run, saying he would "obey whatever the people's commands say".

The Democratic Party swept major local races, but the opposition retained Seoul's mayoralty, with incumbent Oh Se-hoon winning another term.

The NEC said 50 of 14,300 polling stations ran out of ballots, while voting was temporarily suspended at 22 due to delays in supplies. In Seoul, delays were reported at 12 locations in Songpa district, a conservative stronghold.

At one Songpa polling station, an angry crowd blocked officials from moving ballot boxes to be counted after voting ended.