President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday called for a parliamentary investigation into ballot shortages that disrupted voting during last week’s local elections, describing the incident as a serious infringement on citizens’ constitutional right to vote and ordering a joint prosecutorial-police investigation. In a social media statement, Lee said the National Election Commission (NEC) had failed to adequately explain the shortages and urged lawmakers to pursue a national investigation and discuss fundamental reforms to the election watchdog. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok separately met university student representatives, expressing support for a thorough inquiry and accountability measures.

The government’s response came as