The Election Commission: "Video of Staff Inserting Ballots... Completely Untrue"

The National Election Commission (NEC) stated on the 7th via YouTube that the allegations of election fraud involving NEC staff spreading online are "completely untrue."

In a statement released that day, the NEC said, "Two party-nominated commissioners from the Eunpyeong-gu NEC participated in and witnessed all processes of verifying, receiving, and inserting the return envelopes," emphasizing, "The claim that NEC staff arbitrarily entered the ballot box storage location at dawn, broke the seals, and illegally inserted ballots is entirely false."

On the same day, videos circulated online showing individuals believed to be NEC staff in some areas, including the Eunpyeong-gu NEC, attempting election fraud by breaking the seals of ballot boxes and illegally inserting ballots after the early voting ended on the 6th.

In response, the NEC stated, "In cooperation with the National Police Agency, Korea Post, and other government bodies, escort police officers have been assigned to all transportation processes of the return envelopes," adding, "Given that the storage status of postal ballot boxes is publicly available in real-time via CCTV, it is difficult to accept claims that NEC staff would blatantly commit illegal acts."

A person voting at an early voting station for the 22nd National Assembly election. The photo is unrelated to the article content. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

They further explained, "The district, city, and county NEC offices verify the quantity of all return envelopes received from post offices, check the sealing status of the envelopes and the legitimacy of the voters one by one, and then receive them," adding, "After all receipts are completed, the return envelopes are inserted, and the ballot boxes and storage location doors are locked and sealed."

They continued, "Party-nominated election commissioners participate in and witness every process to ensure fairness," and added, "This is transparently disclosed through large CCTV monitors installed at the provincial NEC offices."