How do you not print enough ballots for an election? Screwing up something as basic like this is what causes people to question the legitimacy of elections. If something like this would have happened during the Park Geun-hye administration what would the Korean left have done in response?:

Protests over ballot shortages entered their second day Saturday, with thousands encircling a vote-counting facility in eastern Seoul and demanding a new election.

By 12:35 p.m., approximately 2,000 people had gathered around SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Songpa Ward, according to police, claiming Wednesday’s local elections were fraudulent.

Protesters blocked entrances, trapping an estimated 20-30 officials inside. About 400 police officers were deployed to the scene. No clashes have been reported.

The unrest stemmed from the shortage of ballot paper at more than a dozen polling stations across Seoul on Wednesday, including in Songpa and Gangnam, forcing temporary voting suspensions. Some voters are believed to have left without casting their ballots.

Authorities managed to move the ballot boxes to the gymnasium Friday morning. Since then, protestors have surrounded the facility, preventing officials from removing the boxes or leaving the site.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

The U.S. may be open to dialogue, but North Korea has said repeatedly they will not denuclearize and don’t want to talk about it:

The United States remains open to dialogue with North Korea “without preconditions,” and committed to the “complete” denuclearization of the recalcitrant country, a State Department spokesperson said Thursday.

The spokesperson’s remarks came after Pyongyang’s state media reported Thursday (Seoul time) that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a newly launched nuclear material production facility earlier this week, vowing to “exponentially” strengthen the country’s nuclear arsenal.

“The United States remains open to dialogue with North Korea without preconditions,” the spokesperson said in response to Yonhap News Agency’s request for comment. “The United States remains committed to the complete denuclearization of North Korea.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Early predictions had Mayor Oh losing the race, but now with almost all the votes counted he has been declared the winner now:

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party thanks supporters on June 4, 2026, after being declared winner in the Seoul mayoral race as part of local elections held the previous day. (Yonhap)

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) clinched a resounding victory in the local elections and parliamentary by-elections, winning the key mayoralty in the traditional conservative stronghold of Busan, while the main opposition party retained the Seoul mayoral seat. 

The DP won 12 out of the 16 key mayoral and gubernatorial seats up for grabs, including in Busan where Jeon Jae-soo was elected mayor, while the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) took four seats, including Seoul, where incumbent Mayor Oh Se-hoon was elected to a fifth term, according to the final vote count.

Of the total 14 seats contested in the parliamentary by-elections, which were held concurrently with the local elections, the DP clinched nine, followed by the PPP with four seats, while the remaining seat was won by an independent.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Considering that they made multiple trips to South Korea to film U.S. and Korean airbases it seems to me that Chinese intelligence was hoping to use high school student in an effort to avoid detection. It worked until a local resident finally noticed them and called police:

Two Chinese nationals were sentenced to prison Thursday for illegally filming fighter jets at several South Korean and U.S. military facilities and attempting to intercept traffic control communications.

The Suwon District Court sentenced an 18-year-old Chinese high school student to an indeterminate prison term of 1 1/2 to two years and a 20-year-old Chinese man to two years in prison, both for general treason. An indeterminate sentence is applied to minors under the juvenile law.

It is the first time in South Korea that a foreigner has been found guilty of general treason under the Criminal Act.

The court also ordered the confiscation of their cameras and other items used in the crime.

The two were arrested and indicted for taking hundreds of detailed photos of fighter jets taking off and landing at major air bases nationwide during multiple visits to South Korea between the second half of 2024 and March last year, when both were high school students.

They were found to have visited four South Korean and U.S. military facilities in Suwon, Osan, Pyeongtaek and Cheongju, as well as three major international airports — Incheon, Gimpo and Jeju. They were caught by police in March last year after a resident reported them for illegally filming fighter jets taking off and landing at Suwon Air Base.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It is kind of surprising that South Korea had a female President before ever having a female governor:

Choo Mi-ae, a ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidate who has repeatedly shattered gender barriers throughout her career, broke new ground again, as she was projected to secure the governorship in Gyeonggi Province in the local elections, Wednesday.

If her victory is confirmed, she will be the first woman to lead a provincial or metropolitan government. 

Choo garnered 60.4 percent of votes against the main opposition People Power Party’s (PPP) Yang Hyang-ja at 34.1 percent in a joint exit poll conducted by broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.