South Korean Election Body Admits Numerous Errors in Voter Turnout Reporting

South Korea's National Election Commission (NEC) has acknowledged a significant number of errors in its reporting of hourly voter turnout figures during recent elections, raising concerns about data accuracy. According to data submitted by the NEC to lawmaker Joo Ho-young of the People Power Party, there were 65 instances of post-election corrections to hourly voter counts during the 2024 general election and 81 such corrections during the 2025 presidential election.

These corrections involved discrepancies in the reported numbers of voters at specific times. For example, the election commission in Seoul's Gangnam District initially reported 1,994 voters at 2 PM for a polling station in Shinsa-dong, when the actual number was 1,294. Similar inaccuracies were found in Songpa District, Sejong City, and Incheon, where voter counts were entered incorrectly and later amended.

Other reported errors included failure to input data for certain time periods, resulting in a count of zero, which was later corrected. In one instance in Hadong, Gyeongnam Province, a specific time slot's voter count was initially omitted and later revised to 65 votes. The NEC attributed some of these errors to "counting mistakes."

Lawmaker Joo Ho-young has pledged to thoroughly investigate the alleged irregularities within the NEC, starting with the discrepancies in vote count data. "I will now begin to thoroughly investigate the corruption in the National Election Commission during the last presidential and general elections," Joo stated, emphasizing the need for a special prosecutor's investigation into these matters.

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I will now begin to thoroughly investigate the corruption in the National Election Commission during the last presidential and general elections. We must push for a special prosecutor's investigation. It starts with the false manipulation of voter turnout in past elections.