[Fact Check] ‘JUN’ Lotto Manipulation? ... Actual ID Verified

KIM and LEE IDs Outnumber JUN
Incident Arising from Creating IDs Based on Surnames
'G' in JUNG (정) Treated as a Pseudonym
Need to Avoid Spreading Baseless Conspiracy Theories

Recent allegations of Lotto manipulation have not subsided. Despite explanations from the responsible authorities, concerns such as "How can the starting letters of IDs be the same?" continue to be raised repeatedly. However, after directly reviewing all lottery-winning IDs this year, most of these claims were either unfounded or lacked persuasive evidence.

The lottery manipulation controversy ignited on the 6th when a netizen posted an article titled "Internet Donghaeng Lottery with many wins from similar IDs." The author raised suspicions that since the transition from Nanum Lotto to Donghaeng Lottery, a specific ID starting with "JUN" had won 329 times, collecting 960 million won.

In the 1057th Lotto draw held on the 4th, there were 664 second-prize tickets nationwide that matched five winning numbers plus the bonus number. Among these, 103 tickets were sold simultaneously at a lottery store on Wangsanno, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, sparking debates about "manipulation or number leakage." Such posts increased public suspicion amid these circumstances.

1. 'JUN' IDs belong to multiple people, not just one

On the 9th, Asia Economy conducted a full survey of 4,906 lottery-winning IDs from January 1 to March 8 and found that there were 37 IDs composed of the combination ‘jun** (one digit)’. Although it may appear that one person reused a six-character ID starting with jun, the actual ID lengths vary. The ** notation simply indicates omission and could represent two or five characters. Donghaeng Lottery also announced that during the period in question, there were 167 owners of IDs starting with ‘JUN’, not just one individual.

2. There are more IDs starting with 'KIM' or 'LEE' than 'JUN'

There are also doubts about how multiple people could create IDs starting with JUN. However, there were 51 combinations starting with ‘KIM’ and 41 starting with ‘LEE’, both more than JUN. Other common patterns included ‘RLA’ (typing 'Kim' on an English keyboard), ‘HAN’, ‘MIN’, and ‘PAR’ (Park). This phenomenon arises because it is common in Korea to use one’s surname when creating IDs. JUN originally corresponds to ‘JUNG’ (정), but due to a rule displaying only the first three letters, the ‘G’ is likely omitted. Considering that over two million people have the surname Jung, having many IDs starting with JUN is not unusual.

3. The claim that "JUN sweeps all winnings" is groundless

The claim that IDs starting with JUN monopolize winnings also contradicts the investigation results. The total prize money received by JUN IDs this year was 11.86 million won, similar to LEE (11.55 million won) and KIM (10.33 million won). Except for one JUN ID holder who received 5 million won, the winnings were actually lower than those of other ID combinations.

4. Equipment cannot be immediately replaced even if the lottery operator changes

There is also a claim that this issue arose when the lottery operator changed from Nanum Lotto to Donghaeng Lottery in December 2018. However, according to regulations, even if the operator changes, the existing equipment must be maintained for about two years. This is to ensure stable lottery operations and to reduce unnecessary equipment replacement costs, preventing waste of tax money. Since Donghaeng Lottery used Nanum Lotto’s system even after becoming the operator, such claims are close to falsehoods.

5. Lottery draws are broadcast live and can be witnessed in person

The claim that lottery draws are pre-recorded is also false. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Lotto draws are broadcast live nationwide. Before the broadcast, police officers and the public participate in pre-checks of the weight and size of the draw balls and the proper functioning of the draw machine. If curious, anyone can apply to attend and observe the draw in person. There are no special eligibility restrictions for attendance.

6. Lottery terminals’ servers are blocked at 8 p.m. on Saturdays

Once the live broadcast draw numbers are announced, it is impossible to manipulate lottery terminals or systems. The servers connected to the terminals are blocked every Saturday at 8 p.m., making it impossible to print lottery tickets. Additionally, lottery number information is sent to four separate systems and managed independently, so all these systems would have to be manipulated simultaneously. Lottery officials themselves cannot purchase any type of domestic lottery, making participation in manipulation impossible.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance’s Lottery Commission Secretariat dismissed the claims, stating, “It is impossible in reality to manipulate the lottery information in the four systems confirmed immediately after closing, as well as the sales closing reports and draw reports.”