The fact that circumstances in which two working-level employees manipulated voter turnout were discovered, yet remained hidden until the investigation, is a serious problem in itself. If the system failed to filter it out, the organization must be overhauled, and if there was other intervention, it must be uncovered through an investigation.
This is reported by Jeon Yeonnam.
['SBS 2026 People's Choice' Election Broadcast (June 3) : The purple graph at the bottom shows today's local election voter turnout.]
On election day, the National Election Commission (NEC) compiles and announces voter turnout on an hourly basis from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
First, the officials managing polling stations compile the number of voters by time slot and report it to the eup, myeon, and dong committees. Afterward, the eup, myeon, and dong committees enter the number of voters into the election management system, and after notifying the gu, si, and gun committees and the National Election Commission of the voter status, the hourly voter turnout is subsequently disclosed to voters.
If there was an error in entering the number of voters during this process, it must be corrected after obtaining approval from a superior. However, circumstances have been revealed in which two employees, one from the Gyeonggi Election Commission and another from the National Election Commission, arbitrarily manipulated the voter turnout.
Criticism is pouring in against the National Election Commission for its abysmal internal controls, given that voter turnout—crucial information affecting voters' decisions on election day—was easily distorted by two working-level employees and publicized to the entire nation.
Had it not been for the investigation by the joint investigation headquarters, it is highly likely that the circumstances surrounding the manipulation of numbers by the Election Commission employees would never have come to light.
The joint investigation headquarters' future investigations are expected to focus on whether there was additional statistical manipulation and whether there was institutional intervention by the Election Commission.
If superiors' connivance or involvement in the employees' data matching is uncovered, or if similar manipulation circumstances are confirmed in previous elections, projections are raised that the investigation could expand to overall voter turnout statistics from past elections.
(Camera: Lee Sang-hak, Kang Si-woo | Video Editing: Ahn Yeo-jin)
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