[6.3 election ①] Why are those of you who cried out for democracy 40 years ago silent now?

log date: 2026-6-14

Voters demanding a re-election at the Jamsil Olympic Park since 2026-6-5.

June 10, 2026, student councils from approximately 30 universities including Korea University, read a statement regarding the infringement of voting rights that occurred during the local elections held on June 3, 2026. In fact, June 10 is a day of great significance in Korean history.

** The June 10 Democratic Movement (June Struggle) was a large-scale democratization movement that took place nationwide on June 10, 1987, in opposition to the dictatorship of the regime of Doo-hwan Jeon and the April 13 Constitutional Protection Measures (maintaining the indirect election system). Faced with nationwide backlash, the administration ruled by Tae-woo Noh, eventually issued the 'June 29 Declaration,' and accepted a constitutional amendment to introduce a direct presidential election system. The constitution enacted at that time has become the foundation sustaining the Republic of Korea to this day.

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"Dear fellow students of Korea University and respected citizens,

       Let me ask them, "Where are you now, those of you who cried out and shed blood yearning for democracy 40 years ago? Is this the democracy you cried out for back then? Now that you stand at the pinnacle of power and have become part of the vested interests, are the rights of the people no longer important to you?"

       The National Election Commission (hereinafter NEC), established to safeguard the fairness of elections and never yield to any power, hid behind the shield of independence and did not even undergo an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection. Unmonitored power became a sanctuary for privatizing the organization through fraudulent hiring and embezzling taxpayers' money under the pretext of overseas training.

       An institution that exists solely for the sake of elections has become so busy looking out for its own interests that it has forgotten its fundamental duty.

       The NEC received a budget equivalent to 110% of the total number of voters, yet voters were forced to turn away due to a shortage of ballot papers. Is this truly something that can happen in the Republic of Korea in 21st-century?

       Voting was suspended nationwide as ballot papers ran out, and voting continued at some polling stations after the vote counting broadcast. It was confirmed today that the names of legitimate voters were omitted form the electoral roll.

       What is even more deplorable is the perspective some media outlets have on the NEC case.

       The media must, on behalf of people, question the government - specifically the NEC - as to why ballot papers were not provided to specific voters. Reporters must now obtain answers to the public's questions regarding the reason for the suspension of voting. Nonetheless, how can the media place more weight on the easy stigma by labelling the issues as far-right riots or conspiracy theories? Is this the stance of the media that protects the public's right to know?

It is not the media's role to frame voters who are outraged by poor election management. While we respect freedom of the press, we do not appreciate the freedom to define voters as "stigmatized."

       German philosopher Max Horkheimer warned that ruling powers always mobilize the media to deceive the public and paralyze citizens with critical thinking.

       We cannot tolerate the media tarnishing the calls for democracy by placing more weight on citizen oversight than on power.

       Former President Roh Moo-hyun said the following: "The last bastion of democracy is the organized power of awakened citizens."

       What are we the citizens here today? The state responded to protesting citizens with brutal violence, and far from trying dialogue with voters who stayed up all night guarding polling stations demanding the fairness of the election, the state sent in a thousand riot police officers.

       The authorities rendered citizens' legitimate resistance powerless and forcibly confiscated evidence of voting rights infringement. The brutal scenes of violence against a resisting youth and the dragging away of an elderly person are reminiscent of the oppression during the military dictatorship era.

How can a country that violently tramples on voters trying to defend its sovereignty claim that sovereignty lies with the people?

       How will the NEC resolve this matter and take responsibility? How on earth is the resignation of the Commission Chairman, who has barely any time left in his term, a way to take responsibility?

      Do not try to cover up this NEC case with a hollow apology and an irresponsible resignation.

State power that disregards the significance of voting rights, calls citizens rioters, and resorts to violence will never last long. We will fight until the truth about the state's deprivation of voting rights is revealed.

       Thank you."

Student of class of '26, Korea University (고려대학교)

       

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On June 3, 2026, local elections to elect heads of local governments, along with re-elections and by-elections for National Assembly members in 14 constituencies were held simultaneously in South Korea. Although controversies, both large and small, persisted from the early voting period until the main election day, the chaos that unfolded on election day shocked even those watching from overseas.

The reason the recent South Korean local elections attracted significant attention not only from domestic voters but also from overseas is that a substantial amount of evidence regarding election fraud uncovered at a recount site about three years ago, was circulated on the internet. This has amplified curiosity about how much the Korean electoral system has improved in this election or whether fraud will continue.

Notwithstanding, as the election approached, Korean government's election-related announcements including those from the National Election Commission (hereinafter NEC), surprised many people.

The notorious electronic vote counting machine that has been a laughingstock to the public by displaying bogus vote percentages and abysmal counting capabilities like a magic show during every election. The magic of the 'highly sensitive' electronic vote counting machine, which the "family company" NEC Korea insists is a "ballot sorter," is becoming a hot topic. It is said that a miracle happens where the vote percentage obtained the first time changes drastically from the second time when the same bundle of ballots is passing through it twice. Photo provided by rebuildcorea.org

While many countries suspended the use of electronic voting or vote counting machines after realizing the risks of fraud, the President and cabinet members in South Korea made series of remarks encouraging not only electronic vote counting but also electronic voting by Koreans residing overseas. 

The fact that the national leader does not even consider suspending the use of electronic vote counting machines, which have become a hotbed of hacking risks and fraud, clearly demonstrates his irresponsibility and insensitivity to corruption.

Furthermore, he has changed regulations to facilitate fraud and publicly declared his intention to introduce electronic voting. At a time when more discussion is needed regarding the adverse effects of electronic voting on democracy and voter privacy, it is highly inappropriate for a national leader to order the mandatory implementation of electronic voting.

Unlike the administration's folly, many Korean voters responded wisely. Through various social media platforms, voters encouraged each other to vote on election day instead of early voting day for the upcoming local elections. In a way, it was fortuate to see that more citizens recognized that the early voting system was riddled with loopholes.

An editor spoke about the issues surfaced regarding the 6.3 local election, "It was run haphazardly that I suspected whether the chaos was intentional. Every possible incident that can occur during an election erupted nationwide, making it seem as though some NEC insiders had decided to abolish the NEC Korea after this election. To me, it seemed like the result was also influenced by external intervention."

External intervention? 

The editor explained that corruption within the NEC Korea has intensified over the past decade or so, destroying every corner of the country through elections. He thinks that South Korean elections have been abused, with ex-convicts and criminals paying large bribes to occupy high-ranking public offices and obtain immunity.

Furthermore, he pointed out that the root cause of the recurring and worsening election fraud in South Korea is that judges concurrently serve as chairpersons of the NEC. The same judges also handle recount lawsuits. While this naturally creates a conflict of interest, it is being overlooked.

If election fraud occurs, the judges who supervised the election also become subject to disciplinary action. For this reason, judges reject most requests for recounts. In reality, they have ignored numerous witnesses and evidence submitted with the recount requests.

"I mentioned about the external intervention because in-depth investigation into electronic voting machines and vote counting machines conducted overseas revealed that these devices were hotbeds of election fraud and were effectively used to manipulate election results. As Korean voters became aware of these findings, they came to understand why the NEC Korea had so desperately insisted on electronic vote counting machines despite public opposition."

An analysis also suggests that the reason numerous instances of the NEC's misconduct were exposed in this election was due to a large conglomerate group on the verge of bankruptcy. The owner of this corporation is known to have been a key figure who effectively supported the NEC's fearless abuse of power. Financial pressure prevented the cartel from focusing on the election, and internal cracks within the cartel made it possible to secure concrete evidence of the NEC's misconduct, such as the provision of discriminatory ballots. 

Over the past 20 years in South Korea, allegations of election fraud have been revealed through media reports, with these articles detailing specific acts of misconduct. Although many voters reported what they witnessed and called for electoral system reform, no changes occurred, and the situation only worsened. What happened in the 6.3 local elections marked the lowest point of this deterioration.

Voters who arrived at the polling station in time were unable to cast their ballots because the NEC did not provide them with ballot papers. Voters deprived of their voting rights are protesting in front of the polling station overnight. Photo credit by In-cheol Gihm, Yonhap News Agency.

NEC stopped distribution of ballot papers

Starting around 14:00 on election day, public servants dispatched to each polling station to oversee the proceeding began sending messages to the NEC's group chat, requesting additional ballot papers for there was a severe shortage of ballot papers.

By around 16:00, voting was suspended due to the ballot papers shortage, and as protests from voters poured in, messages asking what to do began appearing in the chat room.

At 18:00, the voting deadline, dozens or hundreds of voters were standing in line in front of the 2nd polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, but they closed the polling station, saying that voting was no longer possible because there were no ballot papers.

In the history of Korean elections, there has never been a time when an eligible voter was unable to cast their ballot due to a shortage of ballot papers. I as well have no recollection of ever seeing a news report about someone being unable to vote due to lack of ballot papers. It is standard practice to print ballot papers in quantities matching the number of registered voters. Furthermore, since ballot papers must be replaced with new ones if there is suspicion of invalidity - such as when a ballot paper is torn - it is common practice to prepare a few extra ballot papers beyond the registered number.

South Korean voters who couldn't vote were outraged and refused to leave the polling stations, protesting against the state for infringing upon their right to vote. It was confirmed that more than 140 reported polling stations were short of ballot papers.

Voters demanding a re-election, criticizing the state for depriving voters of their right to vote.
Photo provided by a SNS user at the Jamsil Olympic Park.

The real problem was that the NEC was aware that many voters had not yet cast their ballots, yet exit polls began to be released. Soon after, vote counting commenced, and broadcasters began reporting the status of the count. This was despite the fact that voting was still ongoing even after the deadline because ballot papers had arrived late.

While an election - the most important event in a democratic nation - was underway, the country appeared to have fallen into a state of anarchy. 

It was not as if the President, the Prime Minister, the Minister of the interior and Safety, or the NEC chairman were all on vacation. They all sat in their seats and took no action.

Voters who had cast their ballots until 22:00 effectively cast their ballots having already predicted the candidate who would soon be elected based on the vote counting and exit poll results.

Voters who were unable to vote because they weren't given ballot papers have been gathering at Jamsil Olympic Park for the past ten days, demanding a re-election. Their demand is just. The right to vote and the right to equality are rights of the people gauranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Korea. Voters arrvied at the polling station in time but were unable to cast their ballots because the state failed to prepare ballot papers. The number of voters deprived of their right to vote is estimated to be between tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands.

It was confirmed that the NEC entered the vote count results incorrectly, and therefore the choices of 1,104 voters did not affect the outcome. Reported by KBS News. Capture shared by a SNS user. 

As the ballot paper issue spread online, the NEC announced that only 50% of the ballot papers had been printed. However, highly unlikely. It has been confirmed that there were a significant number of polling stations that did not experience a shortage of ballot papers at all or had surpluses.

The reason the June 3 local elections were identified as a clear case of rigged election is that discriminatory practices were revealed during the ballot paper distribution process.

In some constituencies, ballot papers were distributed with the number of candidates reduced to just two. In fact, although there were actually a total of six candidates, ballot papers were distributed with only the names of candidate No. 1 and No. 2 printed on them. Moreover, these fraudulent ballot papers were not distributed to all voters, but were selectively given only to specific voters.

It appears that forces that directed and controlled the election selected and distributed ballot papers according to a meticulously planned scenario, and even restricted the quantity of ballot papers in specific constituencies.

As the NEC case has escalated significantly, a joint investigation headquarters of the prosecution and police has launched an investigation. It is reported that search and seizure operations are underway, and servers and mobile phones are being examined. Nevertheless, it appears that public skepticism is being raised regarding how thoroughly the investigation into the NEC which has enjoyed absolute power for decades will be conducted.

Korea University students are staging a protest demanding a re-election after reading a statement
regarding the NEC's disenfranchisement of voting rights. Photo by Korea University

Rallies are being held not only in Jamsil but throughout the country, and declarations on the state of affairs are continuing to be issued. Notwithstanding, South Korean intellectuals who have emphasized the importance of democracy for the past decades and spoken in a lecturing tone about almost every social issue occurring in South Korea, as well as high-ranking officials who have posed as righteous politicians, are facing public criticism for trying to downplay or feigning ignorance on the NEC's misconduct. Those who demanded justice or death have gagged themselves and are remaining silent.

Why are the people who cried out and shed blood for democracy 40 years ago silent now? 

Let me guess. Believe or not, it is probably because they are the very people responsible for all this mess and the suffering of the entire nation. They corrupted every corner of the country and dragged young generation into a quagmire of crime to cover up their own transgressions and keep them from being exposed to the world. What do you think?