June 3 vote must silence fraud theories

Ahead of the June 3 snap presidential election, conspiracy theories about election fraud are once again gaining traction. Some far-right YouTubers are inciting fears by claiming that fraud will occur in the upcoming vote. Banners bearing slogans such as “STOP THE STEAL” have appeared in major cities nationwide, and protests have taken place outside the National Assembly and the National Election Commission. Despite repeated rulings by the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court, including under former President Yoon Suk Yeol, which consistently found no basis for these claims, efforts to amplify and spread such theories have not ceased.

In reality, it is only reasonable to conclude that manipulation is virtually impossible in a process involving 100,000 official observers and 300,000 civilian ballot workers, where even ballots initially sorted by machine are later manually reviewed one by one. Conspiracy theorists have long insisted on claims such as fake ballots, hacking of electronic ballot sorters, and replacement of early voting boxes. However, none of these claims have been recognized by any court. No tampered ballots have been found. Hacking the ballot sorters is fundamentally impossible, and the structure of the early voting box transport and storage process leaves no room for manipulation.

Nonetheless, suspicions persist because instances of poor election management, such as the so-called “cabbage-leaf ballots” and “basket voting” controversies, have spread online without context, fueling mistrust. To address this, all misprinted ballots must be rigorously excluded from counting, and a joint verification body composed of the public, government, and political parties should be established to oversee the entire voting and counting process. Installing GPS trackers on early voting boxes, sharing their real-time movement online, and disclosing 24-hour CCTV footage from ballot storage facilities would help improve trust in early voting procedures.

The National Election Commission, citing its constitutional independence, has independently handled server security checks and internal audits. However, this approach has led to exposed vulnerabilities and hiring scandals, ultimately damaging public confidence in the overall election system. The commission must strengthen its cybersecurity capacity and implement external oversight to prevent corruption. With the upcoming election taking place amid deep national division, there are serious concerns about potential social unrest if the results are disputed. The commission must manage the process thoroughly to avoid providing even the smallest grounds for objection. Politicians must also take responsibility by accepting the results and taking the lead in eliminating these baseless election fraud conspiracies once and for all.