Washington: Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said Tuesday he seriously takes the shocking shortage of ballot papers at dozens of polling stations in last week's nationwide local elections, stressing that suffrage is the foundation of democracy. Kim made the remark at the start of a youth policy meeting with related ministers, saying he was ashamed of the incident.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim expressed regret over the situation, emphasizing the need for a more proactive approach to prevent such occurrences. "We should have been more sensitive to such issues and should've responded more quickly to come up with solutions, but we couldn't. It was truly regrettable and it reinforced our sense of responsibility," he stated.

The ballot shortages led to the temporary suspension of voting at 26 stations in Seoul and other areas during the June 3 elections, an unprecedented event in South Korea's election history. This incident has sparked public outrage, with younger voters in their 20s and 30s staging protests around a ballot counting place in Seoul's southern district of Jamsil for the fifth consecutive day on Tuesday.

President Lee Jae Myung has committed to conducting a thorough investigation into the matter and has announced plans to implement measures aimed at overhauling the National Election Commission to prevent future occurrences.