{
  "id": 17236013,
  "title": "Special counsel asks election watchdog to keep ballot boxes intact for possible review",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/special-counsel-asks-election-watchdog-to-keep-ballot-boxes-intact-17236013",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-30T14:32:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/politics/20261030/special-counsel-asks-election-watchdog-to-keep-ballot-boxes-intact-for-possible-review"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Friday, a special counsel team requested that the National Election Commission (NEC) retain the 420 ballot boxes that had not been found to have any issues during an inspection at a Seoul handball arena. These boxes were left at the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in southeastern Seoul following the June 3 local elections. The team removed the boxes on Thursday after reviewing all 2.47 million ballots cast in the Songpa Ward. The investigation is centered around unprecedented ballot shortages on Election Day that prevented some voters from casting their votes. The 420 boxes were transported to an NEC storage facility in the capital area, as per election law, which mandates the storage of these ballots throughout the term of elected officials. The remaining 13 boxes were kept and will be examined further, depending on objections raised by observers on-site. Some of these boxes may be sent to the National Forensic Service for a more detailed examination. The gymnasium served as a counting location for the elections.",
  "summary": "A special counsel team on Friday asked the National Election Commission (NEC) to keep intact the 420 ballot boxes that drew no objections during its inspection at a Seoul handball arena, saying it may need to examine them again. The boxes had sat in the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in southeastern Seoul since the June 3 local elections. Special counsel Lee Tae-han's team carried them out…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}