Ballot Paper Torn, Election Official Assaulted... Series of Incidents on First Day of Early Voting

"Tore Up Ballot After Marking Wrong Candidate"
Assault After Being Stopped From Posting Campaign Materials
Gwangju City's Voting Event Canceled at Last Minute

On May 29, the first day of early voting for the 21st presidential election, a series of incidents occurred in Gwangju, including the destruction of ballot papers and the assault of an election management official.

According to the Gwangju City Election Commission, at around 6:20 a.m. that day, at the Sangmu 1-dong early voting station in Seo-gu, an individual identified as A tore up his ballot paper by hand.

A demanded a new ballot, claiming he had marked his choice incorrectly. Upon being told by an election commission staff member that this was not possible, he proceeded to tear up the ballot. The election commission is currently identifying A and investigating the exact circumstances of the incident, as the ballot was intentionally damaged.

Also, on the same day, a man in his 50s, identified as B, was arrested at the scene on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act for assaulting an election official at an early voting station in Buk-gu. According to the Bukbu Police Station, at around 10:40 a.m. at the Ochi 1-dong Administrative Welfare Center early voting station in Buk-gu, B is accused of slapping election official C on the cheek.

Investigations revealed that B caused a disturbance after C stopped him from attaching several campaign leaflets featuring a specific candidate's face to the floor at the entrance of the polling station.

An event organized by Gwangju City to encourage voter participation, which involved giving away coffee and chicken, was also canceled following intervention by the election commission. The city had planned to hold a 'voting certification event' for voters who participated in early or main voting and posted proof on social networking services (SNS). However, the election commission reportedly advised cancellation on the grounds that providing goods related to voting could constitute a violation of election law.

Gwangju City decided not to proceed with the SNS voting certification event and removed related promotional materials from its website and other platforms. The city had planned to give coffee and chicken coupons to 150 voters selected by lottery among those who participated in early or main voting, took a certification photo, and tagged the official Gwangju City Instagram account.

A city official stated, "We prepared the event to add meaning to citizens' participation in voting. When we inquired with the election commission earlier, we were told it was not a violation of election law, but as we began promoting the event, we received a warning and decided to cancel it."

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