Pursuant to Articles 1 and 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, I write this statement as a sovereign citizen and eligible voter of the Republic of Korea to condemn the ballot shortage that occurred during the 9th Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections on June 3rd, 2026. As a student studying in Canada, I was unable to participate in the local elections, but I do not believe that not being in my country should be a reason to stay silent in the face of a violation of the right to vote.

Article 6 of the Public Official Election Act of the Republic of Korea stipulates that "the State shall take necessary measures to ensure that eligible voters may exercise their right to vote." A ballot paper is the most fundamental of those "necessary measures."

On June 3rd, 2026, during the 9th Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections, ballot papers were additionally dispatched to 140 polling stations nationwide where shortages were anticipated. Of these, 91 polling stations used the additionally dispatched ballots, and at 26 of those stations, voting was temporarily suspended before resuming. (Source (Korean): National Election Commission Press Release, June 8th, 2026)

The Constitution of the Republic of Korea, as declared in its preamble, was amended with the solemn pledge of the Korean people to "inherit the April 19th democratic spirit of resistance against injustice." The April 19th Revolution was a resistance against electoral fraud, and the Constitution, amended by national referendum, accordingly stipulates in Article 114 that the National Election Commission is an independent constitutional body, subordinate to none of the executive, legislative, or judicial branches. The National Election Commission, whose independence was guaranteed precisely to protect the people's right to political participation, failed to adequately prepare and distribute the very ballot papers, which are the foundation of that participation. This constitutes a violation of the constitutional spirit that the people themselves amended into law, and an unconstitutional infringement upon the people's right to vote.

What matters most in addressing this incident is recognising that it is a matter of constitutional order, a nonpartisan concern that transcends politics. It is self-evident that, as an independent constitutional body, the responsibility for this incident lies with the National Election Commission. However, it must be made clear that any attitude which uses this as a pretext to pursue partisan interests alone obscures the true nature of this incident, and is itself an act that threatens the constitutional order. When the very elections that form the foundation of South Korea's politics and constitutional order are shaken, what good is it to scramble for more ground, unaware that the ground beneath us all is crumbling?

All those who uphold the constitutional order of the Republic of Korea must attend to the fundamental unconstitutionality of this incident, and seek concrete measures to restore the people's right to political participation and prevent recurrence. The National Election Commission must bear full responsibility for its failure to fulfil the solemn duty of protecting the right to vote entrusted to it by the people. And the people too, as the sovereign citizens of the Republic of Korea, must heed this incident with care.

We must all recall the name of our country once more. 대한民국 (dae han min guk; Republic of Korea). The word 民 (min) means the people. Our nation is a nation of the people. To violate the people's right to political participation is to deny the very name of our country. Have we forgotten in whom the sovereignty of the Republic of Korea resides?