Seoul:A special counsel team announced plans to inspect approximately 2.5 million ballots at a vote counting center this week as part of an investigation into ballot shortages during the June 3 local elections.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Special Counsel Lee Tae-han's team will conduct the examination on Wednesday at the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium, which was used as a vote counting center during the elections affected by the shortages.

In other developments, statistics released on Monday indicated that the ratio of people with migrant backgrounds living in South Korea increased in 2025 to 5.4 percent. The total migrant population rose to 2.81 million, up from 2.71 million the previous year, According to Ministry of Data and Statistics. South Korea's total population was recorded at 51.82 million.

In a separate case, a man in his 80s, suspected of transporting over 5 tons of narcotics in the early 2000s, has been repatriated to South Korea after 22 years on the run. The Korean National Police Agency confirmed that the man was returned on October 20, in cooperation with the Busan Coast Guard, following his deportation from Ghana where he had been hiding.

Additionally, North Korea has sent a letter to the president of the U.N. Security Council, claiming that a recent land mine blast near the border was "fabricated" by South Korea. This move follows a letter from South Korea to the council, demanding an apology from North Korea for the September 21 mine blast that injured three South Korean soldiers.