South Korea president: ballot paper shortage hurts reputation as model democracy

Demonstrators sit outside the vote-counting centre to protest a controversy over a shortage of ballot papers that disrupted voting in the local election and to call for a rerun of the election, in Seoul on Saturday. (Photo: Reuters)

SEOUL - South ⁠Korean ⁠President Lee Jae Myung said ​on Monday that ballot paper shortages in last week's local elections ​dealt a serious blow ‌to the country's reputation as a model democracy, and he welcomed the protests questioning the fairness of the process.

"It was just ridiculous," Lee said at a news conference when asked about the ​June 3 incident ⁠that kept some voters waiting for hours at polling stations for ballot papers to be delivered.