Oh Min-seok, Chief Judge of the Seoul Central District Court who concurrently served as the head of the Seoul Election Commission during the June 3 local elections, issued an apology, saying, "I deeply regret the various problems caused by the ballot shortage."

Chief Judge Oh made the remark during a parliamentary audit of the Seoul High Court and other courts by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on October 16, responding to a statement by Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Park Eun-jung, who said, "As the head of the election commission, you should apologize to the public for failing to properly manage the election."

Chief Judge Oh stepped down from his concurrent position as the head of the Seoul Election Commission on June 5, taking responsibility for the mismanagement of the voting process.

Lawmaker Park stated, "The Seoul Central District Court must thoroughly review warrants to ensure that the investigation by the special counsel on the election commission proceeds properly," adding, "It must not become a case of protecting our own people."

Chief Judge Oh explained, "Regarding search and seizure warrants, the judges dedicated to warrants are handling their duties in accordance with the law and principles, and I am not involved in that at all."

(Photo: Yonhap News)