(3rd LD) Inspection of local election ballots stored at Seoul stadium ongoing for 7 hours

(ATTN: RECASTS headline; UPDATES with details throughout; ADDS new photo)

SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Yonhap) -- A special counsel team on Wednesday launched an inspection of ballot papers stored at a handball arena in Seoul as part of its probe into an unprecedented shortage of ballots during the June 3 local elections.

Roughly half of the 2.47 million ballots had appeared to be inspected as of Wednesday evening after special counsel Lee Tae-han's team entered the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in southeastern Seoul to examine the ballots at around 11:50 a.m.

The inspection also covers surveillance camera footage and other material, and includes checking for possible irregularities in connection with the elections.

The gymnasium was used as a vote counting center during the elections and houses ballots cast in Seoul's southeastern Songpa Ward as protesters have blocked their removal amid calls for accountability and a rerun of the elections.

The shortages, reported at multiple polling stations nationwide, sparked a major public outcry after voting was disrupted at some stations and some voters were forced to turn back without casting their ballots.

"(We) hope that this inspection and the currently ongoing investigation serve as an opportunity to resolve the current problems in election management and regain the people's trust," Lee said.

He said the inspection will mainly focus on examining the security camera footage to check for possible intrusions at the site, verifying the number of ballots and checking for possible hacking of ballot sorting machines.

Lee's team has said the examination will not serve as a recount of the votes and is aimed at determining whether there had been any acts of tampering or forgery.

About 500 officials from the National Election Commission were dispatched to support the team in the effort.

A team of observers chosen by the National Assembly, as well as lawmakers and journalists, were also present, considering the high level of public interest.

About 300 protesters gathered around the site, with police deploying some 3,000 officers for crowd control.

While some observers were briefly blocked for attempting to take photos with their mobile phones or use equipment they had brought, no major clashes were reported.

Lee's team was launched last month to investigate the election watchdog's management of ballot papers, suspected tampering of voter turnout data and other allegations of misconduct.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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