The Election Commission’s Rebuttal to ‘Fraudulent Voting’... Min Kyung-wook’s Counter-Rebuttal Claiming “Election Invalid”

The Election Commission Requests Investigation from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office on 'Ballot Paper Seizure'
Min Kyung-wook: "I Presented About Seven Pieces of Evidence"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The Central Election Commission has requested an investigation by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office after determining that the ballots presented by Min Kyung-wook, a member of the Future United Party, as evidence of 'election fraud' were stolen from the counting center in Guri-si, Gyeonggi-do. Min rebutted the commission's denial of his allegations and insisted on "invalidating the election."

On the 13th, Min said on Facebook, "The remaining ballots should be at the polling stations or the election commission's warehouse, so why were they at the counting center? The commission did not even realize the ballots had disappeared until I took them out and shook them." He added, "If even one fact of mismanagement in the election is found, the entire election is invalid. I have about seven pieces of evidence." In response, a commission official told Asia Economy in a phone interview that day, when asked if the remaining ballots were originally stored at the counting center, "Yes," explaining, "The remaining ballots are separately sealed and moved to the counting center, and after counting is complete, they are stored by the jurisdictional election commission."

Earlier, on the 11th, Min held a "4.15 General Election Suspicion Fact-Finding and National Sovereignty Restoration Rally" at the National Assembly, stating, "There are unmarked early voting proportional representation ballots found in bulk," and argued that since early voting ballots are printed each time a voter arrives, no extra ballots should exist, making his possession of the ballots itself evidence of manipulation.

The commission claimed in a press release the next day, "Six remaining ballots from Sutak 2-dong, 2nd polling district in Guri-si were lost, and the serial numbers of the lost ballots match those presented by Min at the scene." It added, "The Guri-si election commission confirmed a discrepancy between the number of voters and the number of ballots issued at the Sutak 2-dong 2nd polling station in the counting center, and temporarily stored the election bag containing the remaining ballots and related election documents in the fitness room inside the Guri-si Sports Center, the counting center. It is presumed that an unidentified person stole some of the remaining ballots." Regarding Min's claim that a bundle of shredded ballots was found in front of a post office in Gyeonggi-do, the commission said, "Since the source was not disclosed, the exact facts cannot be confirmed, nor can it be verified if they are actual ballots," and requested an investigation as well.

The commission refuted claims that early ballots were mixed into the election district, that the ballot sorting machine was manipulated, and that a presumed Chinese national was appointed as a counting official, dismissing the manipulation allegations. The commission stated, "Mistakes by voters or election and counting officials can occur, but these cannot be grounds for manipulation or election fraud. It is inappropriate to incite public opinion by highlighting only partial aspects due to a lack of overall understanding of the election procedures and raising manipulation suspicions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.