Jang Dong-hyuk claims NEC attempted to remove ballots at 4 a.m., saying "The NEC is a suspect"
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk protested, claiming that the National Election Commission (NEC) attempted to take away ballots at 4 a.m. on the 29th. He said, "The NEC is a suspect, and no investigation would leave evidence in the hands of a suspect."
The special prosecution team of special prosecutor Lee Tae-han conducted a consensual verification (an investigation carried out with the parties' consent, without coercion) from 11:49 a.m. on the 28th to around 0:36 a.m. on the 29th, to check whether the approximately 2.47 million ballots from the June 3 local elections stored at the Handball Stadium in Olympic Park, Songpa-gu, Seoul, had been properly managed. Jang and some other PPP lawmakers observed the verification for more than 12 hours starting on the 28th, then remained at the site on a sit-in to block the transfer of the ballot boxes.
Jang claimed that during the observation, storage containers were found with damaged seals, containers that had been altered or reprocessed, and containers containing ballots from other precincts. He said there were also cases where the number of ballots fell short of the tally from the vote count, ballots of different colors or with narrower margins on the sides, and ballots missing the manager's stamp or bearing stamps of a different color. He emphasized, "This is only what has come to light so far. This is why the 2.47 million ballots must be protected."
The special prosecution said that only the ballots subject to investigation would be selected, and that it had no authority over the remaining ballots and would hand them over to the NEC. In response, Jang countered, "The moment the ballot shortage occurred, the NEC had already forfeited that authority."
Rep. Kim Tae-gyu wrote on Facebook that at a table he had verified, the Democratic Party (Garak-dong proportional representation) had 100 more votes and the PPP one fewer. Supreme Council member Kim Min-soo protested, "We must prevent the destruction of evidence," and some observers reportedly demanded a recount.
After the verification, the special prosecution team transferred the ballots in which no anomalies were found to a secure warehouse designated by the NEC. Due to the lawmakers' obstruction, the removal of the ballot boxes took about 5 hours and 50 minutes, with the removal completed at around 7:20 a.m. on the 29th. Regarding the transfer plan, an agreement was reached around 10 a.m. on the 29th to move the ballot boxes to Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on the condition that officials from the special prosecution, the NEC, and the PPP, along with citizen representatives, accompany them.
