Voting Extended to 10 PM at Songpa Polling Station Due to Ballot Shortage

A polling station in Songpa District, Seoul, extended its voting hours to 10 PM due to a shortage of ballots that caused significant confusion.
According to Yonhap News on June 3, the second polling station in Jamsil 7-dong decided to delay the original closing time from 6 PM to 10 PM for voters who received waiting tickets.
Earlier, the ruling People Power Party's Seoul chapter issued a statement, expressing strong opposition to the election commission's attempt to collect the ballot box while voters were still waiting due to the shortage.
In response to protests from party officials, the polling station opted to extend voting hours to ensure that voters who had lined up before 6 PM but were unable to cast their ballots due to the shortage could still exercise their rights.
Election officials on-site reported that some individuals with waiting tickets had not yet completed their voting and requested announcements to urge nearby apartment residents to participate. This unprecedented situation is expected to delay the counting of votes in the area. On the evening of June 3, a fire broke out in a wooded area within the site of the Central Election Commission in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, prompting an investigation by police and fire authorities.
According to Yonhap News, the fire occurred around 7:50 PM in the wooded area behind the Central Election Commission in Jungang-dong, Gwacheon. Fortunately, there were no reported injuries, but some surrounding forest was damaged.
At the time of the fire, police officers from the Southern Gyeonggi Police Agency, stationed at the commission for election day contingencies, immediately began initial firefighting efforts using extinguishers upon hearing the news.
Fire authorities, responding to a report from the commission, dispatched 33 personnel and 11 pieces of equipment, successfully extinguishing the fire by 8:07 PM, approximately ten minutes after it started.
Investigations revealed that the fire originated from a walking path about 100 meters from the commission's main building, an area that is inaccessible to outsiders.
A police spokesperson noted, "The area is surrounded by a fence, making it impossible for outsiders to access the ignition point," adding that they would continue to monitor the situation through closed-circuit television. Kazuo Ueda, Governor of the Bank of Japan, indicated that a further increase in the short-term policy interest rate could be on the agenda at the monetary policy meeting scheduled for mid-June.
On June 3, Ueda spoke at a seminar hosted by Kyodo News, stating, "While the situation in the Middle East is uncertain, it is essential to discuss the appropriateness of a rate hike."
As a result, there is growing speculation that the current interest rate of approximately 0.75% could be raised at the monetary policy meeting on June 15-16, with a 0.25% increase to 1.0% being considered likely.
He emphasized the need for a timely rate hike, noting, "Given the impact of high oil prices, we cannot ignore the risk of inflation exceeding expectations. Delaying a rate increase could impose significant burdens on the economy, markets, and financial systems."
Previously, Ueda had assessed the impact of instability in the Middle East on Japan's economy and prices during a press conference following the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Paris on May 19.   A data breach involving personal information of members from the domestic online video service (OTT) TVING has prompted the government to initiate a joint investigation with the private sector.
On June 3, Yonhap News reported that TVING experienced unauthorized access from outside sources, resulting in the leakage of some subscriber information, including member IDs, names, birth dates, genders, phone numbers, and email addresses. However, it has been confirmed that sensitive information such as resident registration numbers and payment details were not compromised. The exact scale of the breach is still being assessed, and procedures for victim compensation will be announced later.
TVING officially reported the incident to the Ministry of Science and ICT on June 1 after becoming aware of the breach.
The ministry and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) immediately requested that TVING preserve relevant data and began investigating the cause and extent of the breach.
During a subsequent meeting of the incident investigation committee, the matter was classified as a significant incident, leading to the formation of a joint investigation team comprising officials from the ministry, KISA, and private sector experts in forensics and cloud services.
Additionally, the ministry issued a public security notice on the "Protection Country" website to prevent secondary damage, such as smishing, from the leaked personal information.   President Donald Trump expressed his desire to meet Moztaba Khamenei, the new Supreme Leader of Iran, who is deeply involved in negotiations for peace between the two nations.
On June 3, News1 reported that in an interview with the New York Post podcast "Pod For One," Trump praised Moztaba, stating, "He is clearly involved in negotiations, and the Iranian side holds him in high regard."
He added, "I want to meet him, and I want to meet everyone. Depending on how things progress, I will likely meet him at some point."
Moztaba succeeded his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a U.S. and Israeli airstrike in early March. He has not yet appeared in public or delivered any speeches, remaining in hiding and reportedly receiving updates on negotiations with the U.S. through a complex network of contacts.
In related news, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on June 2 that Moztaba is alive and increasingly involved in decision-making within the Iranian regime.
Trump expressed strong confidence in the peace negotiations with Iran, stating, "Negotiations are progressing rapidly. Iran will not possess nuclear weapons, and many other good things will happen in the future."



* This article has been translated by AI.

Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.