Election commission raided in investigation into suspicions of voter count manipulation

Investigators raided the National Election Commission (NEC) on Friday to secure evidence over suspicions of data manipulation in connection with the June 3 local elections.

A joint prosecution-police task force said it began a search and seizure at the NEC's headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, and other local commissions in Seoul, Gyeonggi and North Chungcheong.

The team has been investigating suspicions that some NEC workers manipulated computer system statistics without reporting them to their superiors to cover up errors in voter turnout rates on election day.

Under the current system, the NEC discloses voter turnout every hour on election day based on figures reported by election management workers at each polling station.

The task force suspects some election workers bypassed the official authorization process and adjusted the figures arbitrarily at the instruction of NEC officials.

The team previously raided the commission over the data manipulation allegations on July 23.

The latest search and seizure comes as part of a widening investigation into ballot shortages reported during the local elections, which forced some people to turn back without casting their ballots.

Investigators have identified alleged data manipulation in Seoul's southern wards of Gangnam and Seocho, and Gimpo and Uiwang in Gyeonggi.

The investigation, however, is expected to widen as signs of similar activity have been found in other parts of the country.

Yonhap