[Anchor]

After 6:00 p.m. on June 3, the official closing time for voting, chaos intensified inside Polling Station No. 2. As voting hours were extended until 10:00 p.m., voting continued even after the ballot counting process had begun. The situation was captured in its entirety, including moments when staff had to lock the doors as protesting citizens gathered.

Here is reporter Ha Jeongyeon.

[Reporter]

The situation at Jamsil 7-dong Polling Station No. 2 became even more chaotic after 6:00 p.m., the time mandated by election law for voting to end.

Outside the polling station, reporters and protesting citizens gathered, while inside, voters packed the room, with some seen waiting while checking the news on their mobile phones.

As voting continued, with one woman appearing to be pregnant exercising her right to vote, staff closed the doors to the polling station at 7:03 p.m.

About 20 minutes later, the ballot counting process began following a declaration by the Songpa-gu Election Commission Chairperson, yet voting continued inside.

This point has sparked controversy regarding its legality.

[Cho Hyun-wook / Chairperson of the Committee for Truth regarding the June 3 Local Election Ballot Shortage: Regarding the inappropriate decision to extend voting hours... The ballot counting was initiated with a declaration, while voting was still underway due to the extension of voting hours...]

Around 8:50 p.m., when the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission announced the extension of voting hours at Polling Station No. 2 until 10:00 p.m., the number of protesting citizens increased. Staff stood blocking the entrance before locking the doors at 9:15 p.m.

They only allowed entry through the gap in the doors to voters who had arrived by 6:00 p.m. and received a waiting ticket.

[Citizen: Do I need a waiting ticket? I came earlier and left. Can I go back in and vote?]

There were also voters who, having been unable to vote at other polling stations, came to this location after hearing news of the extension.

[Citizen: We came back to vote because we heard they were open until 10:00 p.m. We thought it would be possible because we were told voting was allowed.]

Around 9:28 p.m., a voter who entered with their face covered attempted to leave through the back door after finishing their vote, seemingly to avoid the crowd outside, but eventually exited through the front door when that was not possible.

CCTV footage shows that only one person voted after the doors were locked.

[Kim Jeong-cheol / Supreme Council Member of the Reform Party: I thought they guaranteed voting until 10:00 p.m., but they had already locked the doors before that. How could anyone go in and vote under those circumstances? I believe this is a serious issue regarding the infringement of voting rights.]

Furthermore, among the 175 people who received waiting tickets, 12 did not cast their votes. The possibility that they turned away due to the difficulty of even entering the polling station cannot be ruled out.

(Video reporting: Ha Ryung | Video editing: Lee Seung-hee | Design: Choi Jin-hoe)