"No Ballots Left to Vote": Why Some Young Koreans Are Protesting South Korea’s Election System

Young Voters Angered by Ballot Shortages

On June 3rd, Korea’s local election day, many citizens were unable to vote simply because there were no ballots, uniquely occurring only in areas with strong conservative (liberal right-wing) support. In an advanced country that claims to practice democracy, citizens were blocked from exercising their voting rights because there were no ballots to vote with. I want to know what would happen if such an incident occurred in the United States.

Young voters were enraged. Tens of thousands of young people voluntarily gathered, surrounded the area near the Jamsil polling station—where people couldn't vote due to a shortage of ballots—and have been protesting all night for 20 consecutive days. This is not a protest led by a political party, but a voluntary protest by angry young people. They are shouting that Korean democracy is dead, and that the Korean election system must be completely overhauled and the election held again.

The winner of the Seoul mayoral election has not yet been confirmed. This is because the ballot boxes from the polling stations that lacked ballots cannot be opened properly.

The National Election Commission: An Unmonitored, Corruption-Ridden State Agency

Since 1948, Korea has adopted an American-style democratic system, but in reality, like in underdeveloped countries, there have been many elections plagued by corruption. It was only from 1987, when the presidential election was changed to a single five-year term and direct popular vote, that an advanced election management system finally began to operate.

The Chairperson of the National Election Commission (NEC) is a non-permanent position served by one of the Supreme Court Justices appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for a six-year term. The structure is such that the Secretary General—an administrative official directly underneath—exercises full power.

The heads of local election commissions perform their duties on a non-permanent basis as chiefs of local district courts. In other words, since elections do not happen every day, no one thought of it as a crucial position, and there was a vague public trust in the election system, believing that there was no way election results could be manipulated.

However, the National Election Commission completely trampled on the public's trust.

High-ranking officials, including the Secretary General, illegitimately hired their own children. Those who were caught were just the tip of the iceberg, and instead of being punished, they merely resigned from their positions.

Because the NEC is a constitutional institution and its leadership operates under the dual titles of Supreme Court Justices and Chief Judges, arrest warrants for them were repeatedly dismissed by the courts.

Many people were furious.

This corrupt group even refused audits by the Board of Audit and Inspection, claiming they are a constitutional institution.

The individual serving as both the NEC Chairperson and a Supreme Court Justice took his wife to the Maldives under the guise of an “election system study tour,” wasting taxpayer money.

Furthermore, they also visited Europe, and every place they went was a tourist destination.

Citizens want to legally prosecute them for these misdeeds, but the courts dismiss the cases every single time.

This is why young people are sleeping on the streets and protesting for 20 days.

Concerns About Election Transparency

Rumors are rampant that the automated vote-counting system uses a Chinese program, but since the court refuses to issue search and seizure warrants, nothing can be verified, making people even more furious.

Many protesters are demanding that vote counting be conducted manually, similar to Taiwan’s election process, and that local elections be held again.

Populist Economics and Political Controversy

This pro-China government outwardly claims to demand a thorough investigation.

However, critics argue that the current administration benefited from the National Election Commission’s failures.

As public demands for a re-election increase, the government has distributed massive subsidies under the pretext of helping citizens cope with high oil prices.

Critics argue that these policies are designed to influence public opinion during election periods.

They also claim that public pension funds are being used to artificially support the stock market.

Many economists maintain that the National Pension Service should limit domestic stock exposure, while critics argue that political pressure is pushing the fund far beyond prudent investment levels.

Young people believe their future pensions are being sacrificed for short-term political gains.

That belief is one of the driving forces behind ongoing protests.

When Will a Proper Democracy Function in Korea?

On the surface, Korea’s democratic system appeared stable.

However, many young voters are now demanding major reforms.

They are calling for:

• A complete restructuring of the National Election Commission

• Greater public oversight of election administration

• Manual vote counting instead of automated systems

• Stronger accountability for public institutions

• An end to taxpayer-funded populist spending during election periods

Whether these demands will lead to meaningful reforms remains uncertain.

What is clear is that a growing number of young Koreans believe democratic institutions must regain public trust before confidence in the election system can be restored.