Haman County Council Faces Disruption Over Chairperson Election Results Due to 'Ballot Marking Position'

Assemblyman Ikwanmaeng Claims "Inju Location Clustered All at Once is 'Invalid Vote'"

Haman County Council members discussing the results of the second half chairman election. (Photo by Hwang Choi Hyun-joo)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Choi Hyun-joo] The Haman County Council is experiencing difficulties over the results of the second half chairman election held at the plenary session on the 1st. Lee Gwan-maeng (Gaya-eup, Haman-myeon, Yeohang-myeon) of the United Future Party, who was a ballot counting committee member, strongly raised objections regarding the ballot marking positions, causing a disruption despite the fact that Bae Jae-seong (Daesan-myeon, Chilseo-myeon, Sanin-myeon) of the Democratic Party was almost certain to be elected.

In the chairman election that day, three-term council member Bae and two-term United Future Party member Lee Gwang-seop (Daesan-myeon, Chilseo-myeon, Sanin-myeon) ran for office. If Bae is officially decided as chairman, it will be the first time in the history of the Haman County Council that a Democratic Party chairman is born.

The council held the chairman election from 10 a.m. under the temporary chairmanship of Kim Jeong-seon. When the first vote resulted in a 5-5 tie, a second vote was held, which also resulted in a 5-5 tie, leading to a runoff vote. However, the runoff vote also resulted in a 5-5 tie, and according to the council rules, Bae’s election was almost certain.

According to Article 8, Paragraphs 2 and 3 of the council rules, if the runoff vote results in a tie, the longest-serving member is elected, and if there are two or more longest-serving members, the eldest among them is elected. If there are no multiple-term members, the eldest member is elected.

However, Lee, a ballot counting committee member, raised an objection regarding the ballot marking positions, strongly insisting that the votes be considered invalid. Lee claimed, “The five ballots voting for Bae were all stamped with the voting seal clustered in the corner in the first, second, and runoff votes,” and argued, “This should be considered an open ballot and therefore invalid.”

However, Jeong Geum-hyo of the Democratic Party, who also participated as a ballot counting committee member, strongly refuted Lee’s claim. Jeong said, “As long as the stamp does not go outside the box, it does not matter where the ink is stamped,” and added, “Claiming invalid votes because the stamps are clustered in a specific position is the United Future Party’s way of opposing the Democratic Party’s chairman election.”

As the chairman election faced disruption, the votes and elections for vice chairman, standing committee chairs, and other relevant department heads, which were to be decided together that day, were postponed without an official session schedule.

The council members also strongly demanded an authoritative interpretation from the election management committee regarding the ballot marking issue. A Gyeongnam Election Commission official said, “The Election Commission cannot intervene in local council chairman elections, so no alternative authoritative interpretation can be made,” and added, “The council members will have to reach an agreement among themselves.”

Meanwhile, the Haman County Council is composed of 10 members: 5 from the United Future Party, 4 from the Democratic Party, and 1 independent.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.