Key facts
- Gaps between voter turnout and vote counts were identified in 78.9% of Seoul's administrative districts during the June 3 local elections.
- Over 3,600 votes were initially omitted from Siheung's election turnout data.
- The National Election Commission cited a reporting error by a local election commission for the omission.
- The error led to Siheung having the lowest reported turnout rate in Gyeonggi Province at one point.
- A prosecution-police task force is investigating alleged data manipulation and ballot shortages.
Gaps between voter turnout and vote counts have been identified in a significant majority of Seoul's administrative districts following the June 3 local elections. In Siheung, a city south of Seoul, over 3,600 votes were temporarily omitted from the turnout data, according to information obtained by Rep. Kim Eun-hye of the main opposition People Power Party.
The National Election Commission (NEC) attributed the discrepancy to an error by the local election commission, which failed to report votes from three neighborhoods for the 9 a.m. update on election day. Instead of correcting the initial figure, election officials instructed that the missing votes be included in the subsequent hourly update, leading to distorted turnout figures. This error caused Siheung to initially report the lowest turnout rate in Gyeonggi Province.
Rep. Kim plans to submit the data to investigative authorities, citing similar patterns observed in other areas. This revelation follows the establishment of a prosecution-police task force in June to investigate ballot shortages and alleged data manipulation by election officials during the elections. The task force has reportedly found evidence suggesting that NEC officials and election workers may have covered up errors.