The joint prosecution and police investigation team looking into the vote statistics tampering scandal at the National Election Commission (NEC) has launched additional raids on regional election commissions in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and other areas suspected of statistical manipulation.

The Joint Investigation Team for Truth-Finding on the Infringement of Citizens' Right to Vote announced today (August 7) that it is conducting raids on the National Election Commission, the election commissions of Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and North Chungcheong Province, as well as the regional election commissions of Gimpo, Uiwang, Jincheon, Seocho-gu, and Gangnam-gu.

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

The joint team has captured and is investigating circumstances where working-level staff at election commissions, who were in charge of managing local polling stations during the June 3 local elections, arbitrarily modified statistical figures in the election management system to cover up mistakes in misentering the number of voters.

Instead of following procedures that require reporting to superiors and obtaining approval to correct figures when misentries occur, staff members allegedly tampered with the statistics by arbitrarily entering false numbers.

It was also confirmed that on the morning of the election, an NEC official sent a "tampering guideline" to regional election commissions, stating, "Make it a rule not to correct voter count errors even if they occur," and "Unless there is a major error, you may report by adding or subtracting from the voter count for the next reporting time."

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

While previously investigating a ballot paper shortage incident, the joint team found messenger conversation contents in which NEC staff plotted not to report voter count misentries to superiors, but rather to arbitrarily adjust them to make the numbers match.

Based on this, the team launched a full-scale investigation into the vote statistics tampering scandal by conducting raids on the National Election Commission and other locations on July 23.

After continuing to investigate relevant individuals and analyze data following the raids, the joint team reportedly uncovered circumstances indicating that statistics tampering went beyond certain regions and was carried out extensively nationwide, prompting today's additional raids.

The joint team plans to examine how and under what circumstances the tampering guidelines issued by the NEC on election day were drafted and transmitted, and what measures regional election commissions took based on them.

Specific acts of tampering have surfaced in Gimpo and Uiwang in Gyeonggi Province, Jincheon in North Chungcheong Province, and Gangnam and Seocho in Seoul, but as suspicious circumstances are emerging across the country, the investigation is highly likely to expand further.

(Photo: Yonhap News)