SEOUL - South Korean police raided the National Election Commission’s headquarters and local election offices on June 11 as a ballot shortage scandal expanded to allegations of missing evidence, vote-counting errors and the commission’s failure to follow operational standards.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it mobilised about 100 personnel and launched search-and-seizure operations at 9am at seven locations, including the NEC headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission and district election offices in areas where ballot shortages occurred.

Police said the raids were aimed at determining the cause of the ballot shortage and the circumstances surrounding the NEC’s alleged poor management and response.

Ballot shortages were confirmed at 91 polling stations, while additional ballots were sent to 140 polling stations.

The controversy erupted during South Korea’s June 3 local elections, when ballot shortages were confirmed at 91 polling stations across the country. Additional ballots were sent to 140 polling stations, but some voters were unable to cast their ballots before the official closing of polls at 6pm.

The NEC extended voting hours at affected polling stations, but the incident sparked backlash over the commission’s management, preparation and crisis response.

The police investigation comes as scrutiny of the NEC has expanded beyond the ballot shortage itself, with additional allegations of election mismanagement emerging in the days since.

The allegations include the disposal of a ballot storage box sought as evidence and a data entry error that left more than 1,100 votes out of the computer tally.

A storage box at the center of the ballot shortage controversy in Songpa-gu, Seoul, was missing on June 10, a ...