Protests surrounding the polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa District, Seoul, have entered their second day amid a ballot shortage crisis.
Demonstrators are monitoring access to the polling station while demanding a re-election. Reports indicate that election commission staff have evacuated the site.
According to Yonhap News, approximately 10,000 people gathered in the vicinity of the Olympic Park handball venue on June 6, according to unofficial police estimates. Participants waved South Korean flags and sang the national anthem while chanting for a re-election.
Police deployed riot units to maintain order but did not take measures to forcibly disperse the crowd as they had the previous day. While there were some tensions between police and protesters, no major clashes were reported.
Multiple police sources informed Yonhap that 20 to 30 election commission employees who were inside the polling station have already left the area. Counting had concluded the previous afternoon, but some protesters were concerned about the potential removal of ballot boxes and had blocked access for election officials.
However, the election commission declined to confirm whether its staff had left the site, stating, "We cannot disclose whether there are employees inside the polling station."
Nearby, a K-pop event, the Weverse Con Festival, was taking place, but organizers managed to separate the crowds, preventing significant disruption.
The protests began on June 5 when ballot boxes from the polling station experiencing the shortage were transported to the counting site. Many participants are believed to be in their 20s and 30s, with families also joining the demonstrations.
Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Liberty and Innovation Party, and PD Lee Young-don, who have raised allegations of election fraud, were present at the protests. They issued a statement demanding a re-election and a special prosecutor investigation.
The controversy over the ballot shortage is spreading throughout downtown Seoul. Some university student councils and faculty groups have held press conferences calling for an investigation, while both conservative and progressive civic groups have organized rallies expressing opposing views on the election commission's response and allegations of fraud.
Yonhap News reported that if police do not intervene further, protests in front of the polling station may continue throughout the weekend.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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