'Never missed a vote in 70 years' — ballot shortage leaves South Korean voters furious

"In my entire life, I have never seen a situation where people simply could not vote."

Anger over a ballot shortage that disrupted polling stations in parts of Seoul's Songpa-gu, Gangnam-gu and Dongjak-gu during the 9th nationwide local elections shows no sign of subsiding — even after Oh Se-hoon was confirmed as the winner of the Seoul mayoral race.

At around 7 a.m. Thursday, roughly 150 people surrounded the entrance of Polling Station No. 2 in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu — a building that normally serves as a senior center for the Woosung apartment complex — in a scene thick with tension. Residents in pajamas stood alongside protesters carrying South Korean flags. Some appeared to have been up all night, dozing in chairs, while others wielded megaphones and chanted "void the election" and "voting equality has been broken."

The station was the last of 14 nationwide polling sites hit by the ballot shortage to finish voting the previous day. Election authorities had allowed voters who had received a queue ticket to cast their ballots until 10 p.m. But some voters raised procedural objections and expressed distrust in the results, and conservative-leaning YouTubers and citizens began streaming to the scene.

The National Election Commission declared voting closed at around 11:50 p.m. Wednesday, but citizen resistance prevented two ballot boxes from being transported to the counting center. The NEC estimates the boxes contain approximately 2,000 votes.

"I can't accept that ballots simply ran out" — residents protest across the area

A 40-year-old Woosung apartment resident identified only as A, who said she had received queue ticket No. 150-something the previous day, said the anger among residents who could not vote was intense. "The idea that voting rights go to whoever gets there first is simply incomprehensible," she said.

A man in his 50s surnamed Han, who lives in the apartment building directly across from the polling station, said he had not slept a wink. "I've lived in this neighborhood since middle school, but I've never seen residents this upset," he said. He added that the outcome of the race was not the point. "It doesn't matter which party wins — the situation itself looks abnormal," he said.

Some voters called for a revote. Lee Hyeon-jin, 31, said she had spent the night outside the polling station. "No matter who is declared the winner, I cannot accept it," she said. "I think we need to raise questions and hold another vote — otherwise this kind of thing will keep happening."

Voters from other parts of the city also made their way to the scene. Lee Jeong-hwan, 28, who said he had come from Guro-gu, said he had stopped briefly at home after a business trip before heading straight to Jamsil. "I've been here for more than 10 hours," he said. "I cannot wrap my head around the fact that a polling station ran out of ballots. I wanted to see with my own eyes what happened."

An NEC official said the commission remained committed to transporting the ballot boxes to the counting center but would not force the issue. "The rest of the count is proceeding normally," the official said. "In principle, all ballot boxes must be counted before the process can be considered complete."

Overnight protests spread — angry citizens converge on Gwanghwamun and Gwacheon

The controversy that began in Jamsil spread overnight to Gwacheon in Gyeonggi Province, where the National Election Commission is headquartered, and to Seoul's Gwanghwamun Square. About 150 people gathered Thursday morning outside the main gate of the NEC's central office in Gwacheon. Kwon U-gwon, 20, who said he had traveled from Ulsan, described feeling despair that a ballot shortage had marred the very first election in which he was eligible to vote. "I came here to help fix the broader problem," he said. A 56-year-old surnamed Han, who said she had taken the first train from Incheon, said any citizen had an obligation to show up. "I'll stay as long as others are here," she said.

Around the same time, an Eunpyeong-gu resident identified only as A said she had boarded the subway in the middle of the night after the ballot shortage news enraged her. "When I think about my children, I couldn't just stay home," she said. A man who said he had come from Daejeon described cycling to Daejeon Station and then taking the KTX to Seoul.

Protests from voters in Songpa-gu's Munjeong 2-dong, another area hit by the shortage, entered their second day.

Kim Min-ji, 58, said her family had been turned away and ultimately could not vote. "We need more than a public apology — we need concrete measures and those responsible must be severely punished," she said. Her daughter, Park So-jeong, 27, said polling station staff had repeatedly told waiting voters past 5 p.m. Wednesday that there were no ballots and that they could not reach the NEC.

Queue tickets shared among strangers — widespread chaos inside polling stations

At Polling Station No. 2 in Munjeong 2-dong on election day, voters were seen passing queue tickets among themselves.

Kim Seok-ju, 57, said he had rushed to the station before closing time only to be told no more queue tickets were being issued. "Someone had picked up a ticket another voter was about to throw away and handed it to me, and that's how I voted," he said. When some voters protested loudly, a station manager reportedly told them to "just go ahead and vote."

Confusion deepened because the extended voting time granted to waiting voters varied from station to station. Polling Station No. 2 in Munjeong 2-dong extended its 6 p.m. closing time by only 25 minutes.

A 42-year-old surnamed Park, who was at the station just after it closed, said she had been cutting tomatoes at home when she heard an announcement that the station was about to close — well past 6 p.m. — and ran out immediately. "I was turned away because there were no ballots," she said. "Shouldn't they have given people enough time to guarantee their right to vote?"

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said 135 calls were made to the emergency number 112 related to Polling Station No. 2 in Jamsil 7-dong between 6 p.m. Wednesday and 5 a.m. Thursday.

By Kim A-rin and Lee Young-gi