Lee Jong-won Allegedly Urged 'Life-or-Death' Participation in National Poll, Accused of Colluding with Chung Cheong-rae Camp

Evidence has emerged that Lee Jong-won 'staked his life' on the national public opinion poll results and encouraged participation. He emphasized that the fate of candidate Chung Cheong-rae, among the four finalists, depended on the national poll, explaining that this was why he instructed participants to unblock phone numbers and receive public calls for two days. He highlighted the importance of the 30% reflection rate of the national poll, presenting a specific vote calculation: if candidate Chung Cheong-rae won by 10%, it could overturn 32,000 votes. He also reiterated the importance of participation, stressing that each person who participated in the poll was worth 80 votes.

Lee Jong-won claimed that over 200 people directly informed him of their poll completion. He stated that if these 200 people had not received poll calls, 8,000 votes would have been lost, emphasizing the significant impact of his encouraged participation on actual voter sentiment. This statement further fueled suspicions of organized intervention in public opinion polls.

The host of Newtamsa pointed out that Lee Jong-won's emphasis that 'in national public opinion polls, the first person to enter wins' was the core of the opinion manipulation. They mentioned that over 200 people reported completing their vote to Lee Jong-won by the poll's second-day deadline, defining these reported votes not as simple valid votes but as systematically induced fraudulent votes. This led to suspicions that 'Team Chung Cheong-rae' mobilized a nationwide organization to manipulate the public opinion poll.

It was revealed that Supreme Council candidate Choi Min-hee posted a 'National Public Opinion Poll Response Guide' on her Facebook on August 15. This guideline encouraged not only general party members but also acquaintances to respond to phone calls, and it promoted the same logic as Lee Jong-won's: 'One person responding to the poll is worth 80 votes for a bona fide party member.' The Newtamsa host criticized this, stating that the '1 person, 80 votes' logic carried the risk of leading to 'betrayal.' These guidelines, combined with Lee Jong-won's encouragement for poll participation, further intensified suspicions that Team Chung Cheong-rae systematically intervened in the public opinion poll.

Lee Jong-won of Sisa Tapa hinted at an organized response to the national public opinion poll, claiming to have secured over 200 respondents through his broadcast. He stated, "At least on my broadcast, if there are 200 people, then 200 people means 16 episodes of 28, which is what we've secured," predicting that his encouraged participation would have considerable power in the final results to be announced on the 17th. This suggests there was a systematic movement to create a favorable public opinion for a specific candidate.

Lee Jong-won's statements revealed an organized strategy to preempt the public opinion poll. He emphasized that it was crucial to respond to the poll on a first-come, first-served basis, stating, "We pride ourselves on having received many [responses]. Tomorrow, we just need to win by the biggest possible margin in Seoul and then overturn it in the final national public opinion poll." This indicates an intention to seize allocated votes by region and age group first to reverse the tide, and it is interpreted as evidence of systematic efforts to distort poll results.

Evidence emerged that Lee Jong-won advised poll respondents to lie about their region or age in their answers. The Newtamsa host stated, "If a significant number of those 200 respondents said they answered honestly about their region and age, most of them wouldn't have made it into the 4,000-sample pool," estimating that the scale of false responses, if aggregated according to Lee Jong-won's instructions, would be substantial. This was pointed out as an act that severely undermined the fairness of the public opinion poll.

The Newtamsa host claimed that the secret to Chung Cheong-rae's 50.7% vote share lay in meticulous public opinion manipulation. He stated, "The secret to Chung Cheong-rae's 50.7% seems to have almost been revealed today. Beyond reverse selection, it's a product of such meticulous poll manipulation," raising suspicions that organized manipulation, beyond simple reverse selection, significantly influenced the vote share. This conclusion was drawn by synthesizing various pieces of evidence, including Lee Jong-won's statements and Choi Min-hee's guidelines.

Evidence emerged that the phone number '02-3775-1498' disclosed by candidate Choi Min-hee on the morning of August 15 matched a number exposed in a Sisa Tapa chat post. The Newtamsa host explained, "Candidate Choi Min-hee disclosed the phone number. On the morning of the 15th, 023775-1498... the number came from Sisa Tapa chat posts on August 14, where numbers were listed." This, along with chat posts revealing the pollster's name 'Metavoice,' was presented as concrete evidence supporting the possibility of systematic collusion between Sisa Tapa and Team Chung Cheong-rae.

The Newtamsa host asserted that Lee Jong-won's poll manipulation was not merely an independent act but appeared to have been carried out in connection with the entire 'Team Chung Cheong-rae' organization. He stated, "Lee Jong-won's poll manipulation wasn't just done independently. We see it as having been carried out in connection with the entire Team Chung Cheong-rae organization," raising strong suspicions of organized collusion based on the previously secured chat evidence. This suggests that the matter is not one of individual misconduct but rather widespread organizational involvement.

The Newtamsa hosts announced that they have secured and preserved all evidence related to Lee Jong-won's poll manipulation statements and real-time chat records. They stated, "We have downloaded and preserved all of Lee Jong-won's statements and the real-time chat posts," clarifying their intention to provide all related information, including IDs, if requested by investigative agencies in the future. This is interpreted as a move demanding a thorough clarification of the raised suspicions and urging active intervention by investigative authorities.