[Provided by Yonhapnews]

▲ Sudden surge in Siheung City voters within 1 hour...approximately 3,600 voters found to be omitted

On the day of the June 3 local elections, it has been confirmed that a large number of hourly voter counts were omitted and later reflected in Siheung City, Gyeonggi Province.

According to data obtained by Rep. Kim Eun-hye of the People Power Party, cumulative voter counts in Siheung City increased by 19,568 voters in just one hour, from 22,914 at 9 a.m. to 42,482 at 10 a.m.

Analysis has raised that such a surge is unprecedented compared to the general trend of voter increases by time period.

▲ Election Commission claims "registration button not pressed"...turnout discrepancies emerge

The National Election Commission explained that staff members in 3 areas—Jeongwang-bon-dong, Yeonseong-dong, and Neunggok-dong—failed to press the voter registration button, resulting in the omission of 3,612 voters.

Subsequently, the Siheung City Election Commission confirmed this fact and stated that the omitted voters were reflected in the 10 a.m. count.

When the actual omitted voters are reflected, the cumulative voter count at 9 a.m. would have been 26,526, and at 10 a.m. would have been 38,870, with an hourly increase of approximately 12,344 voters.

However, a discrepancy of 1.63 percentage points emerged from the official turnout rate announced by the National Election Commission, raising questions about statistical accuracy.

▲ Concerns raised about possible distortion of turnout rankings

It has been noted that the omission of voter counts could have affected voter turnout by region.

The Election Commission reported that Siheung City had the lowest voter turnout at 5.2% in Gyeonggi Province based on 9 a.m. figures.

However, analysis suggests that had the omitted 3,600 voters been properly reflected, the actual voter turnout and regional rankings for Siheung City could have differed.

As a result, the credibility of voting information provided on election day has become a renewed controversy, extending beyond a simple data entry error.

▲ Joint investigation expands...voting statistics management system comes under scrutiny

Currently, the Joint Investigation Headquarters of prosecutors and police is investigating the entire process of how the Election Commission revised hourly voter counts.

The Joint Investigation Headquarters is reportedly concentrating investigative efforts on confirming whether errors in the reporting process were corrected through normal procedures or were distributed as entries across different time periods or regions.

Rep. Kim Eun-hye stated that similar patterns are being confirmed in other regions beyond the Siheung case and plans to submit relevant data to investigative authorities.

This case has demonstrated that determining whether this was a simple data entry mistake or a structural problem with the management system has emerged as a key issue for restoring trust in future elections.