South Korean law enforcement officers raided the offices of the national election watchdog on Thursday as part of an expanding inquiry into suspected voter turnout manipulation during local elections held in June.
A joint task force comprising police officers and prosecutors carried out search and seizure operations at the headquarters of the National Election Commission in Gwacheon, as well as its regional branch in Gyeonggi province.
An official representing the special investigation team confirmed that investigators found evidence indicating officials had deliberately entered false voter turnout statistics into official systems on polling day.
Investigators suspect that working-level staff altered computerised data without authorisation to conceal operational mistakes, such as recording incorrect voter numbers earlier in the day.
Rather than reporting input errors to senior managers through required channels, staff members allegedly redistributed incorrect figures across multiple polling stations to keep regional totals consistent.
Search warrants executed during the raids cited potential charges of falsifying official electronic records and obstruction of official duties.
The raids follow weeks of public criticism following the 3 June local elections, which were marred by unprecedented ballot paper shortages at dozens of polling stations.
The voting shortages led to widespread public demonstrations and forced the former head of the National Election Commission, Roh Tae-ak, to step down from his post.
President Lee Jae Myung ordered a thorough investigation into the administrative failures shortly after taking office.
Two election officials have already been formally placed under investigation, and authorities plan to question senior management to determine whether leadership was aware of the data adjustments.
