Oh Se-hoon calls for dissolution-level reform of election commission over ballot shortage

By Shin Sang-yoon, The Herald Business

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Saturday condemned the ballot shortage that disrupted voting across the city during Wednesday's local elections, calling it a violation of citizens' right to vote and an affront to constitutional order. He urged dissolution-level reform of the National Election Commission and a thorough government investigation.

In a statement released Saturday, Oh thanked Seoul residents for giving him "another precious opportunity to lead the city," but said his joy at winning was overshadowed by a heavy heart. "Before celebrating my election, my heart is heavy and devastated," he said.

He said dozens of polling stations across Seoul ran out of ballots during the election, forcing many citizens to leave without voting or wait for extended periods — an unprecedented situation. "The state encouraged citizens to vote, yet sent them home because there were no ballots at the polling stations," Oh said. "That is a grave violation of the right to vote and a trampling of constitutional order."

Oh said he was listening "with great weight" to the voices of young people demanding the dissolution of the election commission, the appointment of a special prosecutor and a re-run of the election.

He added that treating the shortage as acceptable simply because it did not affect the outcome "tramples on the values of fairness and common sense that young people seek," and that "in a democracy, the value of a single vote is sacred, regardless of whether it changes the result."

Oh made three demands of the government and the election commission. First, he called for a thorough investigation into the failure to forecast ballot demand, the breakdown in supply chain management and whether the errors were intentional or the result of gross negligence. "A fact-finding process that the public can accept — through a parliamentary investigation, the introduction of a special prosecutor or other means — is necessary," he said.

He also called on the election commission to engage in deep reflection, including severe punishment of those responsible regardless of rank. Oh said the recurrence of the same problems that plagued the previous presidential election was "evidence of the election commission's chronic breakdown in discipline," adding that "public trust cannot be restored without personnel reform and organizational restructuring."

Finally, Oh urged a complete overhaul of the election management system to prevent a recurrence. "The public is not just disappointed but outraged that South Korea's election administration in 2026 could be this backward," he said, calling for the entire election management process to be redesigned from scratch based on advanced technology and rigorous data forecasting.

Oh said that regardless of the outcome, an election in which procedural justice had collapsed was a wounded one. He pledged to "speak up on the side of citizens until the truth of this incident is uncovered and responsible action is taken."

Oh also demanded that the government "make every effort to ensure that the precious votes of Seoul citizens are not discarded due to the incompetence of election authorities."