72 turnout corrections reported to election watchdog on June 3 election day

The National Election Commission (NEC) received a total of 72 reports of voter turnout corrections on the day of the June 3 local elections, information submitted by the watchdog to a lawmaker showed Monday.

According to information the NEC submitted to Rep.

Kim Eun-hye of the main opposition People Power Party, the 72 reports came from 56 local election offices across the country.

It was also revealed that in some cases, the voter count increased by more than 6,000 and turnout figures were corrected as late as 12 hours later.

The possibility of additional voter turnout revisions that were not reported to the NEC cannot be ruled out, as the watchdog has a total of 255 branch offices nationwide, the lawmaker noted.

A joint prosecution-police investigation team has also secured the turnout correction data and is reportedly investigating whether there were additional instances in which NEC employees manipulated the statistics without leaving a record.

In Incheon's Geomdan district, west of Seoul, the number of voters was initially reported as 54,665 as of 4 p.m. on June 3 but was later revi ...