President Lee Casts Early Vote in Incheon for Local Elections

President Lee Jae-myung cast his vote on May 29 at a polling station in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, near the Blue House, on the first day of early voting for the local elections.

According to the Blue House, President Lee and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung participated in an "out-of-district vote" for their registered address in Incheon’s Gyeyang-eul district.

Dressed in a gray tie, President Lee headed to the polling station, intentionally avoiding colors associated with any specific political party to prevent misunderstandings.

After presenting his identification and completing the verification process, President Lee entered the voting booth with his ballot. He soon stepped outside to ask, "Where is the election official? Is it okay if the circle is only partially filled in?"

Concerned that his ballot might be invalid due to an incomplete mark, he sought clarification from an election official, who assured him that it would not be considered a spoiled ballot. President Lee then returned to the booth to complete his voting.

Outside the polling station, dozens of members from the disability rights group "Korea People First" staged a protest, demanding the introduction of illustrated ballots and voting assistants. One individual with a developmental disability handed President Lee a handwritten letter outlining their demands.

President Lee inquired about the number of voters with developmental disabilities and whether they were requesting that candidates' photos be included on the ballots to facilitate their voting process. He observed a demonstration of assistive tools that would allow for the addition of photo overlays on ballots.

He stated, "I will consider whether this can be implemented in the official voting process," and requested his aides to report on the associated costs.

President Lee also took time to pose for photos and shake hands with individuals from the disability community and nearby citizens.

Following their voting, the presidential couple moved to a nearby restaurant for lunch, enjoying dishes such as barley bibimbap, handmade dough soup, stir-fried webfoot octopus, mung bean pancakes, and kimchi pancakes.

Deputy Spokesperson Ahn Gyu-ryeong explained in a written briefing that the couple's early voting schedule was designed to encourage public participation in the electoral process and emphasize that democracy is completed through citizen engagement.

Meanwhile, the People Power Party raised concerns about potential violations of election law, asserting that ballots should not be disclosed to others. Song Eon-seok, co-chair of the party's election committee, stated on Facebook, "According to Article 167 of the Public Official Election Act, no voter may disclose their ballot to another person, and any disclosed ballot should be considered invalid."