[Anchor]

The National Election Commission (NEC) has been subjected to a raid following the discovery of circumstances indicating that the number of voters was deliberately misentered on the day of the local elections last month. It appears that NEC employees secretly altered numbers to cover up an incorrect entry of voter counts at a polling station in Gyeonggi Province. If true, this goes beyond a simple mistake or incompetence and constitutes a crime.

Today's (July 24) first report comes from Shin Yong-il.


[Reporter]

The joint prosecution-police investigation headquarters conducted a raid on the Central Election Commission in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, and the Gyeonggi Provincial Election Commission.

The search warrants specified charges of falsifying official electronic records and obstruction of official duties. During the investigation into ballot paper shortages, the joint investigation headquarters captured circumstances indicating that the number of voters was falsely entered at a polling station in Gyeonggi Province on the day of the June 3 local elections.

An official from the regional election commission mistakenly entered hundreds of voters as thousands during the process of tallying hourly voter turnout. To conceal this, they attempted to manipulate voter turnout by distributing the discrepancy—which exceeded the actual number of voters—to other polling stations.

It was also found that they omitted the required reporting and approval procedures from superiors that are necessary when correcting erroneously entered numbers.

The joint investigation headquarters secured messenger logs showing that working-level NEC staff conspired among themselves to match the numbers without reporting the erroneous voter count entry to their superiors.

It is reported that the manipulated statistics eventually returned to normal over time through subsequent adjustments.

The joint investigation headquarters has booked two individuals, including employees from the Central Election Commission and the Gyeonggi Provincial Election Commission, who were involved in the voter turnout manipulation. Once the analysis of the seized materials is complete, they plan to summon the suspects to investigate the details of the manipulation.

Meanwhile, to secure additional evidence regarding the shortage of ballot papers—which was the original core of the investigation—the joint investigation headquarters also conducted raids on election commissions in Seoul's Songpa, Gangnam, and Seocho districts.

(Photo courtesy of Yonhap News)
(Reported by Lee Sang-hak and Kang Si-woo | Video edited by Won Hyeong-hee | Designed by Kim Ye-ji)