Actress Park Bo Young has drawn backlash after responding to social media demands for her to comment on the recent ballot shortage controversy in South Korea's local elections.**

According to Koreaboo, Park's Instagram and other social media accounts became the focus of intense criticism after she referred to protesters as "weirdos" and said she was "not affected" by their demands.

The controversy began after several polling stations in Seoul, including areas in Gangnam, Gwangjin, and Songpa, ran out of ballots during the June 3 local elections. Some voters faced long waits or were unable to cast their votes. The situation escalated when protesters blocked the removal of ballot boxes at the Jamsil vote-counting center in Songpa's Jamsil 7-dong neighborhood, demanding a halt to the vote count and calling for a new election.

After approximately 35 hours, two ballot boxes were removed, but protests continued outside the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium, where votes were being counted.

The protests have been politically charged, with demonstrators associated with far-right election-fraud claims, unlike last year's mass rallies against former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration. The ballot shortage has been widely viewed as an election management failure, but the protests' political tone has divided public opinion.

Park Bo Young had previously expressed support for last year's impeachment-related protests, prompting some social media users to criticize her silence on the current controversy. Commenters accused her of "selective justice" and demanded that she speak out or provide support to protesters, as other celebrities like IU, Lee Dong Wook, and Girls' Generation's Yuri reportedly have.

In response to the criticism, Park, according to Star News, posted on a fan platform, writing: "I like you guys a lot, too. Have a good day today," and added, "Haha. I only realized after seeing bubble messages about it. What a bunch of weirdos. Don't worry about it. (I'm just not that affected by them...)"

This response further fueled demands and hate comments from protesters who viewed her remarks as dismissive of voting rights concerns.

The ballot shortage incident has intensified discussions about election integrity in South Korea amid ongoing political tensions ahead of upcoming national elections.