Recount of Tongyeong mayoral race — decided by 44 votes — hits snags from the start

The recount of the Tongyeong mayoral race — decided by just 44 votes — has run into trouble from the outset, with the final result now expected later than initially anticipated.

The recount was held Monday afternoon at the sixth-floor conference room of the South Gyeongsang Province National Election Commission in Changwon. It was triggered by an election appeal filed by People Power Party candidate Cheon Yeong-gi, the former mayor. Representatives and observers from the camp of Democratic Party of Korea candidate Kang Seok-ju, the incumbent Tongyeong mayor, as well as election commissioners, were also in attendance.

Also drawing attention was the presence among Cheon's observers of Jeon Han-gil (legal name Jeon Yu-gwan), a former Korean history lecturer who has raised allegations of election fraud, and television producer Lee Yeong-don.

Results had originally been expected around 7 to 8 p.m. Monday, but objections raised by Cheon's side over recount procedures caused delays.

Cheon's camp requested permission to record the recount proceedings on video, but the request was denied. South Gyeongsang Province National Election Commission Chairman Lee Yeong-hun said the commission had arranged for video recording at the three counting stations, and that an internal review had concluded unlimited video recording could not be permitted.

Cheon's side also raised concerns about the sealed condition of the ballot storage boxes, but the Tongyeong National Election Commission said the seals showed no irregularities.

The back-and-forth pushed the opening of the ballot boxes back by about an hour and a half — from the scheduled 2 p.m. start to 3:25 p.m.

The South Gyeongsang Province National Election Commission transferred 37 boxes containing 69,693 ballots from the Tongyeong commission's storage to the conference room for a full manual recount. As of 10 p.m. Monday, 16 of the 37 boxes had been counted, with 21 remaining.

"Based on the current pace of the recount, we expect results late at night," a commission official said.

Some 330 police officers were deployed around the commission building throughout the recount to prepare for any contingencies.

Cheon filed his election appeal on June 17, citing possible errors in the ballot-sorting machine system used in the June 3 local elections. In that race, incumbent Mayor Kang Seok-ju won with 33,626 votes (48.97 percent), edging out Cheon's 33,582 votes (48.90 percent) by just 44 votes, or 0.07 percentage points.

Independent candidate Park Cheong-jeong received 1,455 votes, while 1,030 ballots were ruled invalid.

Under Article 219 of the Public Official Election Act, a mayoral or county chief candidate who contests the validity of an election result may file an appeal with the provincial election commission within 14 days of the official declaration of the winner.

The full cost of the recount — 19.22 million won ($13,100) — is to be borne entirely by Cheon, who filed the appeal.