Election invalidation complaints filed nationwide regarding the June 3 local elections are being successively rejected or dismissed. On the 7th, the Central Election Management Commission processed 15 complaints targeting major elections, including the Seoul mayoral race, Busan mayoral race, Gyeonggi governorship, Busan superintendent of education, and Gyeonggi superintendent of education. Three were rejected, and 12 were dismissed for "failure to comply with correction orders."

In the case of the Seoul mayoral election invalidation complaint, the commission acknowledged the violation of election regulations, such as ballot shortages and voting interruptions, but rejected the complaint on the grounds that it was difficult to conclude these factors affected the election results. The complaints filed by former Seoul superintendent of education candidate Cho Jun-hyuk and former Incheon superintendent of education candidate Lee Dae-hyung were also rejected for the same reason. One complaint filed by an ordinary voter was also rejected for the same reason.

On the day of the June 3 local elections, voting was temporarily suspended at some polling stations, including those in Songpa-gu, Seoul, due to ballot shortages, causing voters to wait. As a result, more than 100 election complaints were received nationwide.

The Busan Election Commission rejected 50 out of 68 received complaints, dismissed 5, and closed 13 cases due to complaint withdrawals. The Gyeongnam Election Commission rejected all 11 complaints, including the one seeking invalidation of the Tongyeong mayoral election results.

■ Election Complaint Processing Procedure An election complaint is a procedure to contest the validity of an election based on violations of election management rules. After receipt, the Election Commission's Complaint Review Committee must render a decision within 60 days. If a complaint is upheld, a re-election must be held within 30 days from the date of the decision notification. Conversely, if a rejection or dismissal is decided, the complainant may file a lawsuit in court within 10 days from the date of notification.

■ Ruling and Opposition Party Complaint Reviews Underway The People Power Party filed election complaints on June 17 for seven metropolitan leadership elections, including Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, Ulsan, Busan, Jeonnam-Gwangju, and Chungbuk. Separately, People Power Party metropolitan leadership candidates submitted complaints for four regions — Daejeon, Chungnam, Sejong, and Jeonbuk — and the Reform Party also filed election complaints for 18 locations, including the Seoul mayoral race.

The complaints filed so far by the People Power Party and the Reform Party have been excluded from review, but similar outcomes to previous decisions are expected. The Central Election Commission plans to continue reviewing the election complaints filed by the People Power Party on the 12th.

The People Power Party, anticipating that its party-level election complaints will be rejected, is preparing countermeasures. Senior spokesperson Park Chung-kwon emphasized that filing an election complaint is a mandatory procedure for pursuing subsequent election litigation and stated the party's intention to pursue legal action in the event of rejection. However, while the party's floor leadership agrees with filing an election lawsuit, it maintains the position that the matter must go through a general assembly of lawmakers.