Employees of the Central Election Commission (CEC) under investigation for alleged vote statistics manipulation reportedly stated that "only the final voter turnout matters."
According to legal sources on July 24, the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) secured this statement from CEC staff and officials from the Gyeonggi Province Election Commission the previous day.
The JIT began its investigation after discovering that CEC staff responsible for managing local polling stations during the June 3 local elections had manipulated election management system statistics to conceal errors in the reported number of voters.
When errors occur, protocol requires that they be reported to superiors for correction, but the staff allegedly bypassed this process and entered false data to manipulate the statistics.
On the previous day, the JIT conducted searches at the Gyeonggi CEC and the election offices in Songpa, Gangnam, and Seocho districts, securing relevant materials. Those involved in the manipulation of statistics are also being investigated for violations of public records and obstruction of official duties.
CEC employees acknowledged the allegations of false data entry but claimed, "Isn’t the final voter turnout what’s important?" They argued that they corrected the earlier misreported voter numbers through additional statistical manipulation, thus justifying their actions.
Meanwhile, the JIT continued its search of the CEC servers on this day. The head of the Dongjak District Election Commission is also being summoned for questioning as a suspect in the vote paper shortage incident.
Additionally, three CEC officials are expected to be questioned as witnesses regarding allegations of former CEC Chairman Noh Tae-ak's business trip for personal gain.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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