Joint Investigation HQ Conducts Additional Seizures at Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Chungbuk Election Commissions Over Alleged Vote Statistics Manipulation

The joint prosecution-police investigation headquarters probing the alleged vote statistics manipulation by the National Election Commission (NEC) has launched additional search and seizure operations in regions including Seoul and Gyeonggi Province where statistics tampering is suspected.

The Joint Investigation Headquarters for the Truth-Finding on the Infringement of Citizens' Right to Vote announced today (August 7) that it is conducting searches and seizures at the NEC, the election commissions of Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and North Chungcheong Province, as well as local election commissions in Gimpo, Uiwang, Jincheon, Seocho-gu, and Gangnam-gu.

It was reported that the search and seizure warrants list charges including the falsification of official electronic records and obstruction of official duties.

The joint headquarters is investigating after capturing circumstances where working-level staff members of election commissions who managed regional polling stations during the June 3 local elections arbitrarily modified statistics on the election management system to conceal errors in inputting the number of voters.

The findings indicate that instead of following procedures to report and obtain approval from superiors when input errors occur, staff members manipulated statistics by arbitrarily inputting false numbers.

It was also confirmed that on the morning of the election, an official from the National Election Commission sent "manipulation guidelines" to provincial election commissions, instructing them that "even if voter count errors occur, the principle is not to modify them" and that "unless there are major errors, reporting can be made by adding or subtracting during the next time slot's voter count report."

Subsequently, when inquiries regarding corrections due to voter count input errors came in from places like Gimpo, records were secured showing that the NEC side created and sent Excel files containing specific statistics manipulation methods and figures.

While previously investigating the ballot paper shortage incident, the joint headquarters identified messenger chat contents showing that NEC staff conspired not to report voter count input errors to superiors, but instead to adjust them arbitrarily to make the numbers match.

Based on this, it commenced full-scale investigations into the vote statistics manipulation scandal by launching a search and seizure operation against the NEC and other locations on July 23.

Having continued questioning related parties and analyzing data following the previous search, the joint headquarters reportedly embarked on today's additional searches after uncovering circumstances suggesting that statistics manipulation went beyond certain regions and took place extensively nationwide.

The joint headquarters plans to examine the circumstances under which the manipulation guidelines sent down by the NEC on election day were drafted and transmitted, and what actions provincial election commissions took based on them.

While places where specific manipulation acts have been revealed include Gimpo and Uiwang in Gyeonggi Province, Jincheon in North Chungcheong Province, and Gangnam and Seocho in Seoul, the investigation is highly likely to expand further as suspicious circumstances are emerging across the country.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.