Actor Shin Ji-won posted on Instagram regarding the shortage of ballot papers in the 6·3 local elections. Provided by her agency
Actor Shin Ji-won, formerly of Berry Good (previously active under the name Jo Hyun), invoked “suffrage” in connection with the 6·3 local-election ballot-paper shortage and sparred with netizens.
On the 6th, on her social networking service (SNS) Instagram, Shin shared a photo of citizens gathered to condemn the 6·3 local-election ballot-paper shortage and wrote, “Jamsil residents, citizens of the Republic of Korea! Be sure to have your meals, and stay safe.” She also attached a sticker that read ‘suffrage’.
After posting this, she also disclosed an abusive message she received from a netizen. The netizen sent Jo Hyun a DM(Instagram direct message) saying, “There are really many empty-headed 2-jjik Ilbe insurrectionist rioters.” Shin shared this and said, “Are you not a citizen of the Republic of Korea?”
Shin followed in another post, countering, “It is common sense. Those who are hurling abuse, are they citizens of the Republic of Korea? People in both the Democratic Party and People Power are saying it is serious, but whether it is 1 or 2 is not what matters.”
The ‘suffrage’ post and the message actor Shin Ji-won uploaded on Instagram. Shin Ji-won Instagram
Shin has repeatedly made her political leanings clear. In May last year, she posted a video of Korean history instructor Jeon Han-gil on Instagram and encouraged voting on election day rather than early voting. On May 4 of the same year, she shared an animated video titled ‘The Reality of the Republic of Korea 2030’ and, saying “I would rather work harder without taking that money,” indirectly criticized the livelihood support fund policy.
The situation blew up when, in the main vote of the 6·3 9th nationwide simultaneous local elections, some polling stations ran short of ballot papers, leading to delays and suspensions. The National Election Commission(NEC) said on the 5th that its first internal investigation found that additional ballot papers were sent to 67 polling stations nationwide due to shortages, and additional papers were actually used at 50 of them.
The fallout led to the resignation of the NEC leadership. On the 5th at the NEC in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, National Election Commission Chairperson Noh Tae-ak held a press conference to publicly apologize and expressed an intention to step down, stating, “There is no excuse for the occurrence of something that infringes on the precious right of the people, namely suffrage, which should never happen.”
