President Lee Jae Myung said Sunday he accepts complaints about voting rights infringement due to ballot shortages in the June 3 local elections but rejected claims of election fraud as a distortion of the issue.
President Lee Jae Myung made the remarks during a remote meeting with top aides from Rome, where he is on a European trip. "I acknowledge and accept all of our people's fair complaints about voting rights infringement," Lee said. He added that it was "absurd" such an incident occurred in what is "the foundation of democracy," referring to the June 3 local elections where some voters left without casting ballots.
The National Election Commission has acknowledged that more than two dozen polling stations nationwide experienced temporary suspension of voting due to ballot shortages. Protesters have staged rallies for 10 consecutive days at a vote counting station in eastern Seoul, drawing over 15,000 people at one point, according to unofficial police estimates. They demand a rerun of the elections.
Lee dismissed fraud claims, calling them a distortion and anti-social crime. He called for a speedy and thorough investigation by the ongoing prosecution-police probe and the National Assembly, which plans to launch a parliamentary investigation committee later this week.
