NEC admits it 'failed to control' Seoul voting site congestion
Published: 29 May. 2025, 21:49
Updated: 30 May. 2025, 09:38
![Police are stationed at the Gusinchon-dong community center where ballots were allegedly taken outside the polling station on May 29 in western Seoul. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/05/30/5760e7c6-648b-4598-9401-c23060ce9e2b.jpg)
Police are stationed at the Gusinchon-dong community center where ballots were allegedly taken outside the polling station on May 29 in western Seoul. [JOONGANG ILBO]
On the first day of early voting for the 21st presidential election, dozens of ballot papers were seen outside a polling station in Seoul, sparking controversy and raising concerns regarding electoral integrity.
The National Election Commission (NEC) acknowledged the incident Thursday and attributed it to administrative mismanagement.
According to the NEC and eyewitnesses, between 11 a.m. and noon Thursday, a number of people were spotted holding ballot papers and return envelopes outside the early voting site at the Gusinchon-dong Community Center in Seodaemun District, western Seoul.
A high number of out-of-district voters caused congestion, outlets including Maeil Business Newspaper reported, leading some citizens to receive their ballots after verifying their identities and then wait outside the polling station before voting. The NEC estimated that around 30 to 40 people had received ballots and were waiting outside.
Several witnesses reported seeing people walk around the neighborhood with their ballot papers. One staff member at a nearby university said the queue stretched roughly 30 meters (98 feet) when they visited during lunch.
“I thought the envelopes in their hands were informational pamphlets, but they were actually ballot papers and return envelopes,” they said.
![Police are stationed at the Gusinchon-dong community center where ballots were allegedly taken outside the polling station on May 29 in western Seoul. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/05/30/6416604c-d459-423f-a423-25fca7095365.jpg)
Police are stationed at the Gusinchon-dong community center where ballots were allegedly taken outside the polling station on May 29 in western Seoul. [JOONGANG ILBO]
In a video uploaded to YouTube by a user named Park Jun-young, voters outside the polling site were seen holding what appeared to be ballots and return envelopes. Some individuals who had exited the polling station were still holding what looked like official voting documents. Reports also emerged that some voters left the site with their ballots to have lunch and returned later, prompting allegations that poll workers had failed to properly track or verify those individuals’ identities upon return.
Reached for comment, a polling station supervisor said they were reviewing the situation but had no further information.
The incident drew immediate criticism from political circles.
“The NEC’s ongoing negligence only adds to public anger and distrust,” wrote People Power Party lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin on social media on Thursday.
Muhn Seoung-ho, a Seoul Metropolitan Council member from the same party, visited the site later that day and said, “The poor internal conditions resulted in ballots being handed out before voters had even entered the polling area.”
Legal experts warned that the incident could constitute a violation of the Public Official Election Act.
![The Gusinchon-dong community center, where ballots were allegedly taken outside the polling station on May 29 in western Seoul [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/05/30/509bb765-05ab-4910-bd26-55bc75bb6e06.jpg)
The Gusinchon-dong community center, where ballots were allegedly taken outside the polling station on May 29 in western Seoul [JOONGANG ILBO]
Article 158 of the act stipulates that voters must mark their ballots inside the polling booth, fold them in a way that prevents others from seeing their choices, seal them in the return envelope and place them directly into the early voting ballot box. Some critics questioned whether proxy voting could have taken place while the ballots were outside, arguing that this undermines the core principles of direct and secret voting.
The NEC said that limited space inside the polling site made it difficult to accommodate all waiting voters, prompting election officials to relocate the queue for out-of-district voters outside. As of noon, they ceased allowing outside waiting and began regulating the pace of voter verification and ballot issuance.
“Although police officers and election staff were stationed outside the polling place, we regret that a small number of voters left the queue, which we failed to control effectively,” the NEC said in a press release. “We will take all necessary measures to prevent similar incidents.”
An NEC official admitted to the management challenges but emphasized, “Ballots are only issued after confirming a voter's registration, so no errors occurred in the voting process itself.”
Separately, around 1 p.m. Thursday, a group of YouTubers gathered in front of the Daerim 2-dong early voting site in Yeongdeungpo District, claiming they were there to monitor for “election fraud.” The group said that Chinese nationals could potentially vote with forged identification and attempted to verify whether arriving voters were “really Korean,” briefly causing a disturbance.
Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON, LEE CHAN-KYU, KIM CHANG-YONG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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