Joint Investigation Team Probes Central Election Commission Official Suspected of Instructing Manipulation of Voting Statistics

Suspected Instruction to Enter Voter Figures by Time Slot

Songpa Election Commission Secretariat Chief Also Investigated over Ballot Shortage

The joint investigation team of the prosecution and police, currently probing the "ballot paper shortage incident" that occurred during the June 3 local elections, will summon for the first time a working-level official from the Central Election Commission who is suspected of instructing the manipulation of voter count statistics at the time.

Central Election Commission of Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi Province. Yonhap News Agency

According to the legal community on July 31, the joint investigation team is set to question an official of the Central Election Commission, referred to as "A," as a suspect on charges including obstruction of official business.

Official A is accused of having received an inquiry from employee B of the Gimpo election commission about how to handle the incorrect entry of voter numbers during the local elections, and instead of taking the proper correction procedures, directed them to manipulate the figures.

The joint investigation team believes that A handled similar incorrect data entry issues in the same way in other locations, such as Jincheon in North Chungcheong Province and Uiwang in Gyeonggi Province, and that A shared the relevant method with B. When B did not understand the instructions, A reportedly went as far as to create and send an Excel file that organized the number of voters to be entered by time slot.

The team plans to question A regarding the circumstances that led to the order to manipulate the statistics, whether the incident was reported to superiors, and whether similar incidents occurred in areas besides Gimpo, Uiwang, and Jincheon.

On the same day, the joint investigation team will also question the head of the secretariat at the Songpa election commission as a suspect in relation to the ballot paper shortage. Several other officials from the Central Election Commission are also expected to be interviewed as witnesses.

The investigation team is looking into whether the election commission anticipated the possibility of a shortage of ballot papers at certain polling stations in advance but failed to take appropriate action. They are also examining indications that the same serial number was duplicated on two ballot papers at polling stations under the jurisdiction of the Songpa election commission.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.