South Korean Police search the main headquarters of the National Electoral Commission

The security forces of South Korea carried out a search this Thursday at the headquarters of the country’s National Electoral Commission as investigations continue into the problems registered in early June during the local elections due to the lack of sufficient ballots in some polling stations and the possible falsification of participation figures.

The operation has been ordered due to the possibility that some commission workers have manipulated the data to cover up possible errors during the election day of June 3, in which, according to the first investigations, systematic errors occurred.

This measure represents a new point in the framework of the ongoing investigations given that the intentional manipulation of data would constitute a much more serious crime than simple negligence on the part of employees, according to information from the Yonhap news agency.

Prosecutors and investigators leading the case had previously ordered the raid at the Gwacheon headquarters, south of Seoul, but also at other local offices in Songpa, Gangnam and Seocho districts, where ballots were also missing.

Under the current system, the National Electoral Commission releases voter turnout data every hour during election day, based on the figures provided by election workers at each of the tables established for voting day.

If an incorrect figure is entered, a correction is made by reporting the error to the supervisory authority and obtaining the corresponding approval of the change.

The committee created to investigate the case has stated that 140 of the country’s 14,288 voting centers requested and received additional ballots after anticipating shortages on Election Day. Of these, 91 used the additional ballots received, while voting was interrupted, at least temporarily, in 26 voting centers due to a lack of ballots.