The National Election Commission (NEC) of South Korea has faced renewed scrutiny over the mismanagement of early voting ballots during two presidential elections.
These failures undermine the fundamental principles of secret and direct voting, raising concerns about the integrity of the democratic process in the country.
Reports indicate that during early voting for the 20th presidential election in March and April 2022, and the 21st presidential election in May 2023, ballots were transported without being sealed [1, 2]. In a practice described as "basket voting," ballots were stored and moved in plastic baskets, cardboard boxes, and shopping bags [1, 2].
Officials said that the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated these measures because election workers had to manually collect and transport ballots from voters who had tested positive for the virus [1].
Beyond transport issues, some polling stations suffered from critical ballot shortages. This led to delays in voting procedures and instances where voters left polling stations while still holding their ballots [1, 2]. Secretary General Heo Cheol-hoon said the NEC identified 14 polling stations in Seoul that experienced these shortages [2]. These locations included 12 sites in Songpa-gu, specifically Garak 2-dong and Jamsil 2-dong, as well as one site each in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, and Guui-dong, Gwangjin-gu [2].
Former NEC Chairperson Noh Jung-hee addressed the failures in March 2022. "I feel a deep sense of responsibility and sincerely apologize to the people," Noh said [2].
Similar apologies followed the 2023 cycle. Former Chairperson Noh Tae-ak also spoke regarding the poor management of the voting process in May 2023 [2]. Despite these public apologies, critics argue that the commission has failed to implement substantive improvements to prevent such "domino" failures from recurring.
“"I feel a deep sense of responsibility and sincerely apologize to the people,"”
The recurring nature of these administrative failures suggests a systemic struggle within the NEC to scale its logistics to meet the surge in early voting. By failing to secure ballots in sealed containers and miscalculating supply needs, the commission has created vulnerabilities that could be exploited by political challengers to question the legitimacy of election results.
