Korean Bar Association condemns police deployment at Jamsil polling station amid ballot shortage

The Korean Bar Association issued a statement Saturday condemning the National Election Commission over a ballot shortage that disrupted voting during the June 3 local elections, calling for a full investigation and accountability.

"This incident must not be dismissed as a mere clerical error," the association said in the statement. "It must be recognized as a grave failure by a constitutional body to protect citizens' right to political participation." The association said the commission's complacent attitude and the structural problems that enabled it were at the root of the crisis.

The association cited three specific violations of the constitutional principles underpinning free and fair elections: voting was suspended due to a shortage of ballots; some voters gave up and left after waiting an extended period for new ballots to arrive; and voting continued after broadcasters had already released exit poll results.

"This constitutes an abandonment of the constitutional duty to ensure that all citizens can exercise their right to vote fairly and equally — something that cannot be tolerated in a democratic state," the association said.

The association also criticized the deployment of police the day after the election. "Using state power to manage the anger of citizens whose right to political participation was violated is tantamount to treating the sovereign people as subjects of control — by the very party that should be held responsible," it said.

"If public doubts about the fairness of the electoral system are not resolved, the very foundation of trust in the democracy we have painstakingly built will inevitably be severely undermined," the association said.