Seoul Court Orders Preservation of Evidence on Ballot Shortage in Local Elections

SEOUL, June 9 (Yonhap) -- A court on Tuesday issued an order to preserve evidence on ballot boxes related to the unprecedented shortage of ballot papers that disrupted voting in parts of Seoul during last week's local elections. The Seoul Eastern District Court accepted a petition filed by Kim Jung-chul, the supreme council member of the minor Reform Party, to ensure the preservation of boxes and other items related to the ballot shortage. A total of four items from the No. 2 polling station in the Jamsil 7 neighborhood, Songpa Ward, will be placed under the order, including the boxes and surveillance camera footage of the polling station, according to the court. However, the court rejected other petitions to preserve evidence, including ballot boxes that were moved to another counting center. Ballot shortages were reported at more than a dozen polling stations in Seoul during the local elections, mostly from Songpa Ward of southern Seoul, prompting a temporary suspension of voting in the local elections. Protestors have been rallying outside a vote-counting facility in Seoul for the fifth-day, demanding a rerun of last week's local elections.