'Only the final turnout matters': Election officials accused of manipulating vote data
Investigators say NEC staff entered false real-time voter turnout data during the June 3 local elections, later claiming that only the final count was important.
Members of the joint police-prosecution task force investigating ballot shortages in the June 3 local elections leave the National Election Commission headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on July 23.JOINT PRESS CORPS
Election officials under investigation for allegedly manipulating real-time voter turnout statistics during the June 3 local elections reportedly defended their actions by arguing that “only the final turnout rate matters,” despite the live figures being publicly released throughout Election Day.
The joint police-prosecution task force investigating the ballot shortage incident obtained statements from working-level officials at the National Election Commission (NEC) and its Gyeonggi commission on Thursday acknowledging that they viewed the final turnout figure as the only meaningful statistic, according to legal industry sources on Friday.
Investigators allege the officials altered voter turnout data in the election management system after making input errors while compiling turnout figures in real time on Election Day. Rather than reporting the mistakes to supervisors and obtaining approval to correct them, as required under internal procedures, the officials allegedly entered false figures directly into the system to conceal the errors.
The task force raided NEC headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, along with election commission offices in Songpa, Gangnam and Seocho districts in southern Seoul on Thursday to collect potentially related evidence.
Investigators also searched the offices and residences of working-level NEC and Gyeonggi election commission officials suspected of manipulating the data on charges such as falsifying electronic public records and obstructing official duties.
Members of the joint police-prosecution task force investigating ballot shortages during the June 3 local elections carry boxes of evidence seized during a search of the National Election Commission headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on July 23.JOINT PRESS CORPS
During the searches on Thursday, the accused NEC officials admitted to entering false figures but defended their actions by arguing that “what matters is the final turnout rate.” They said earlier errors in the voter count were corrected over the course of the day.
The final turnout figure ultimately matched the actual vote count, so they argued there was no problem.
Investigators dismissed their explanation as unconvincing. The investigators noted that the NEC publishes voter turnout figures throughout Election Day and that voters may use those updates to decide whether to cast their ballots.
Members of the joint police-prosecution task force investigating ballot shortages during the June 3 local elections enter the National Election Commission headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on July 23.YONHAP
The task force continued its search of NEC’s servers for a second consecutive day on Friday.
The investigators are also scheduled to question the secretary general of the Dongjak commission as a suspect in connection with the ballot shortage incident. Separately, three NEC officials will be questioned as witnesses over allegations that former NEC Chairperson Rho Tae-ak took overseas trips under the guise of official business.
As the investigation continues, a protest outside Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Songpa District calling for a re-run of the June 3 local elections enters its ninth week.
Demonstrators have encircled the venue, which was used as a ballot-counting center and still houses the election ballots.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
