Politics · South Korea · 10 hrs ago
Probe finds false voter-count entries in 30 South Korean districts
A special prosecutor found false hourly voter counts in 30 districts during South Korea’s June 3 local elections.
The entries were made in election management and vote-count reporting systems, according to the investigation team.
Investigators say some figures were changed later, while other false counts were carried forward or increased in a pattern.
The team reviewed system logs and questioned more than 70 election officials before announcing its findings.
The figures were used in real-time turnout information released to the public, raising concerns about trust in the election process.
Investigators searched seven election offices on October 15, including the national election commission and local offices.
The probe will focus on why the entries were made and who was responsible.
A special prosecutor said 30 local election offices entered false hourly voter counts during South Korea’s June 3 local elections.
The prosecutor said 25 offices were newly identified, in addition to five previously found by a joint investigation team.
Investigators said some offices changed figures after the fact or continued reporting false counts over later time periods.
On October 15, the team began searches at seven election offices, including the National Election Commission.
The prosecutor said the investigation would establish how the false entries occurred and who was responsible.
- Who
- Special prosecutor Lee Tae-han’s team said it found the false entries at 30 local election offices.
- What
- The offices entered false hourly voter counts in election-management and vote-count reporting systems.
- When
- The findings were announced on October 15, 2026. The entries were made during the June 3 local elections.
- Where
- The offices were in 30 local jurisdictions across South Korea.
- Why
- The prosecutor said it was investigating the scale of the false entries, their causes and who was responsible.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Local election offices entered hourly voter counts into election reporting systems.
Investigators analyzed system logs and questioned more than 70 local election officials.
The special prosecutor’s team began searches at seven election offices.
The team announced that false entries had been found at 30 local election offices.
- Offices implicated
- 30 local election offices
- Newly identified
- 25 offices
- Previously identified
- 5 offices
- Searches
- 7 offices
- Search team
- 3 prosecutors, 20 investigators and 8 digital-forensics staff
7 sources
시간별 투표자 수 허위 입력… 지역 선관위 25곳 추가 확인
(LEAD) Special counsel says 30 local election commissions falsely entered voter turnout data
특검 "30개 시군구 선관위 투표자수 허위입력"…7곳 압수수색(종합2보)
특검 “전국 30개 시군구 선관위, 투표자수 허위입력 확인”
What people are saying
Such false entries undermine public trust in the fairness and transparency of elections and cause distrust in the electoral system itself, threatening the foundations of democracy.