National Election Commission. [Yonhap News] 

A joint prosecution and police investigation team has launched raids on the National Election Commission (NEC) and other offices after uncovering evidence of intentional election fraud involving the manipulation of statistics by election commission staff.

The joint investigation team (headed by Kim Tae-hoon, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office) has been conducting searches and seizures at the central NEC office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, as well as the district election commission offices in Songpa-gu, Gangnam-gu, and Seocho-gu, since the morning of the 23rd.

The search warrants reportedly include charges of fabrication of official electronic records and obstruction of the execution of official duties.

The investigation team stated, "We discovered circumstances indicating that officials at the central and Gyeonggi provincial election commissions falsely entered voter turnout data during this local election, and we are conducting raids on them as well."

It is understood that the joint investigation team has confirmed evidence that rank-and-file staff responsible for managing local polling stations arbitrarily modified computer statistics to cover up errors in the number of voters entered.

They are suspected of manipulating statistics by arbitrarily changing figures, bypassing the standard procedure that requires reporting such input errors to superiors and obtaining approval before making any corrections.

Previously, on the 24th of last month, the investigation team raided the offices of officials at the Seoul Metropolitan and Songpa-gu election commissions, where a shortage of ballots occurred, to secure documents related to the commission's response on election day.

It is reported that the team uncovered the circumstances of the staff's manipulation of voting statistics during the analysis of the seized materials and subsequent interviews, leading to this new phase of the investigation.

The authorities also appear to have secured messenger logs showing that NEC staff conspired to "fix the numbers" by arbitrarily adjusting the voter count rather than reporting the errors to their superiors.

Consequently, attention is focused on the potential fallout and how far the scope of this intentional manipulation may reach. 

The joint investigation team plans to summon the involved NEC employees for questioning regarding the circumstances behind the fabrication, including the false entry of voter turnout, once the analysis of the seized materials is complete.

If the investigation confirms that statistical manipulation actually occurred, observers suggest that the probe could expand beyond the June 3 election to include past elections as well.

Whether the investigation will broaden to determine if similar statistical manipulation took place in previous elections, or if other statistical indicators besides voter counts were arbitrarily altered, remains a focal point of public interest.