Lee Jun-seok Slams Election Fraud Claims as 'Sorcery,' Cites Statistical Experts

Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok has sharply criticized Jang Dong-hyuk, the leader of the People Power Party, for alleging election fraud based on statistical claims. Jang had asserted that the probability of identical vote counts for ruling and opposition candidates in certain early voting districts was astronomically low, suggesting foul play.

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Jang's claim of '1 in 590 million' is not calculation but sorcery.

Lee, speaking on June 10, dismissed Jang's claims, particularly the figure of "1 in 590 million," as abandoning scientific thought. He characterized the approach of presenting conclusions without supporting evidence or methodology as akin to "sorcery" rather than calculation. Jang had cited instances, such as identical vote counts for the People Power Party's Yoo Jeong-bok and the Democratic Party's Park Chan-dae in specific Songdo districts for the Incheon mayoral race, and ten such occurrences in the Gwangju-Jeonnam mayoral election.

To counter Jang's allegations, Lee shared the analysis of Professor Huh Myung-hoe, an emeritus professor of statistics at Korea University and father of Fields Medalist Huh Joon-yi. Professor Huh stated that the phenomenon of identical vote counts is mathematically understandable and that suspicions of vote manipulation are not statistically reasonable. He explained that when considering all possible combinations of electoral districts, it is plausible to find one or two instances of perfect vote count matches purely by chance.

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It is a natural phenomenon that can be understood mathematically.

Both the Incheon and Jeonnam election commissions had previously refuted Jang's claims, urging restraint from baseless allegations of fraud based solely on improbable statistical outcomes. Lee emphasized that politicians have a duty to verify numbers before presenting them, and that Jang's actions, if based on information from platforms like YouTube, indicate a decline in political discourse to the level of algorithmic content. Lee demanded that Jang either publicly disclose his calculation methods or retract his statements.

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The politician has a duty of verification when handling numbers.