18 university student councils issue joint declaration condemning ballot shortage at local elections

Student councils at 18 universities across the country simultaneously issued declarations on Wednesday — the 39th anniversary of the June 10 Democratic Uprising — condemning the ballot shortage that disrupted the June 3 local elections.

The joint declaration was signed by student councils at Konkuk University, Kyung Hee University, Korea University, Pusan National University, Sogang University, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul National University, University of Seoul, Sungkyunkwan University, Sookmyung Women's University, Soongsil University, Yonsei University, Chonnam National University, Jeonbuk National University, Chungbuk National University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Hanyang University and Hongik University.

The councils characterized the incident as a violation of suffrage and called for a full investigation into the ballot shortage and punishment of those responsible, relief measures for the infringement of sovereign rights and steps to prevent a recurrence, structural reform of the National Election Commission, and the establishment of an independent reform oversight body open to all citizens — including youth and university students.

About 200 students gathered in front of the student union building at Yonsei University in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, at 6 p.m. Wednesday to read out the declaration.

Behind the students in their blue Yonsei University department jackets hung a memorial banner for the late democracy activist Lee Han-yeol, marking the 39th anniversary of his death, bearing the words "Bring Han-yeol back to life."

Hwang In-seo, emergency committee chair of the Yonsei University student council, condemned the ballot shortage as "the moment when the most fundamental right of the people was brought to a halt by the incompetence and irresponsibility of a state institution."

"This is not a matter of who benefited — progressives or conservatives, the ruling party or the opposition, this candidate or that party," Hwang said. "It is a question of the people's rights, the Constitution, and whether the Republic of Korea can remain a democratic republic."

"Standing before the democracy that Lee Han-yeol gave his life to protect — are you not ashamed that citizens could not exercise their rights at the ballot box, that young people must once again take to the square and cry out 'protect every vote'?" Hwang said.

Some students at the event also offered personal remarks about the incident.

A student surnamed Kim, majoring in political science and diplomacy, said "shoddy election management handed election fraud conspiracy theorists a chance to bounce back," adding that the space they now have to speak "is not because their claims are legitimate, but because the election commission destroyed its own credibility and handed a political opportunity to those who undermine democracy."

The remarks drew objections from some students, who shouted that the gathering should not be used as a tool for political infighting. One student called out, "Lee Jae Myung is the one who committed insurrection."

Hwang stepped in to defuse the situation, acknowledging that "some remarks may have felt excessively politically biased."

At the same time, the Seoul National University college student council chairs' joint conference held a declaration event at Acropolis Plaza on the Gwanak campus, also condemning the ballot shortage.

About 150 Seoul National University students attended, including 18 college student council presidents.

Before reading the declaration, participants donned their navy Seoul National University department jackets and sang the university anthem together.

Shin Ga-yeon, vice president of the College of Human Ecology student council, criticized the commission, saying "an institution that exists for the single purpose of managing elections failed to prepare ballots on the day itself" and that "a right guaranteed by the Constitution was stopped by a single sheet of paper."

"For some, it was their first vote. For others, it meant carving time out of a packed schedule to stand in line at a polling station," Shin said. "We are not asking for anything grand. We are asking that what happened be made clear."

The students also said their voices should not be reduced to fodder for political disputes.

Kim Jin-hyeon, president of the College of Education student council, said the students viewed the matter "not through the lens of political interests, but solely to restore the foundations of democracy and the essence of education." He called on the election commission to "put in place effective measures to ensure that a voter's ballot is never again undermined by administrative failure."

Lee Eun-seo, 22, a student who attended the event, said she came because she believed it was "a forum where student representatives would speak with political views set aside." She added that she was struck by how the speakers "made clear that this should not be used as a political tool and spoke without invoking words like re-election or election fraud."

"People around me agree that suffrage was violated, but they feel the movement is gradually becoming politicized, and that seems to make it harder for them to attend events like this," she added.

A social sciences student surnamed Jeong said political organizations unrelated to the university sometimes hold protests on campus, and that "in that context, it is meaningful for students to step away from political infighting and speak for themselves directly."

잠실 투표용지 상자 사라졌다…용지 부족 사태 핵심 물증 확보 ‘난항’

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