SEOUL: South Korean authorities agreed on Tuesday (June 9) to launch an investigation into ballot paper shortages at recent local elections, local media reported, following widespread protests.
Dozens of polling stations suffered unprecedented shortfalls of ballot papers during last week's nationwide vote for mayors, local government officials and assembly members.
The mishap has embarrassed the election watchdog and brought thousands of people into the streets over the weekend for demonstrations near affected vote-counting sites.
Prosecutors and police have agreed to set up a joint headquarters to investigate the incident, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said on Tuesday, according to the Yonhap news agency.
The probe will seek to "swiftly and thoroughly determine the facts surrounding incidents during the June 3 local elections that disrupted voters' ability to exercise their democratic rights", it quoted the office as saying.
The report came as a Seoul court said it had ordered that evidence from an affected polling station in the capital be preserved for investigation.
The evidence includes ballot boxes and CCTV footage, a representative of the Seoul Eastern District Court told AFP.
The vote was the first held nationwide since President Lee Jae Myung took office a year ago.
His party won many major races but lost the key Seoul mayoral contest to the conservative opposition.
And the election was marred by the shortages that affected 50 polling stations, including more than 30 in the capital.
The head of the National Election Commission (NEC) resigned on Friday over the furore.
On Saturday evening, an estimated 10,000 people gathered at the SK Olympic Handball Stadium in Seoul, where ballots from the elections had been counted. Some demanded a rerun of the polls.
The NEC has said it miscalculated voter turnout and thus supplied fewer ballots than required, an explanation that has done little to contain criticism.
"The notion that someone could have been unable to vote because ballot papers ran out is hard to imagine. It must have come as a big shock to the people," Lee said on Monday, calling for a thorough investigation.
Analysts say the NEC, a constitutional body with limited external oversight, has long faced gaps in internal discipline and review mechanisms. - AFP
