Final tally for local elections completed after counting omitted ballots

The final vote count for this week's local elections was completed Friday, two days after a shortage of ballot papers disrupted voting at over a dozen polling stations in Seoul. Election officials declared the final tally for the June 3 vote after reflecting the results from two ballot boxes that were counted belatedly due to a blockade staged by protesters alleging election fraud. Earlier in the day, police dispersed a crowd of protesters and secured the ballot boxes, containing around 2,000 ballots, at a polling station in Seoul's Songpa Ward. Friday's tally did not significantly alter the election results, including the razor-thin Seoul mayoral race. The final count showed that incumbent Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party won with 49.22 percent of the vote, defeating Chong Won-o of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea by 1.15 percentage points, or 60,259 votes. During Wednesday's elections, ballot shortages were reported at polling stations in Seoul, including in the southeastern wards of Songpa and Gangnam, prompting temporary suspensions of voting there.

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