South Korea election chief resigns over ballot shortage

The head of South Korea's National Election Commission resigned on Friday, June 5, 2026, to take responsibility for a widespread ballot shortage that disrupted voting during the June 3 local elections. Commission Chair Roh Taeak announced his resignation during a public apology at the agency's headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. The commission's secretary-general, Huh Chulhoon, also offered to resign.

The shortages occurred at dozens of polling stations nationwide, with at least 50 stations affected, including 14 in Seoul's Songpa district. Voting was temporarily halted at 22 polling stations, primarily in the Greater Seoul region. The disruptions caused delays, and some voters reportedly left without casting their ballots after waiting. The commission attributed the shortages to a policy decision to print ballots for a minimum of 50 percent of eligible voters in some areas, an effort to reduce unused ballots as early voting rates have increased. Officials noted that even with this policy, shortages occurred due to variations in turnout among individual polling stations.

In his apology, Roh stated that the incident damaged public trust in election management and the...