Jinan County Mayor Jeon Chun-seong on Opinion Poll Manipulation Allegations: "I Don't Know Anything About It"

Until August of last year, Jinan County Mayor Jeon Chun-seong was in a close race with other candidates, with support in the late 20% range. In particular, he was slightly behind candidate Han Soo-young, remaining in second place.

However, after a sudden surge of 3,000 anonymous phone numbers, Mayor Jeon Chun-seong established a dominant position in opinion polls, climbing to first place. This rapid change in approval ratings has led to allegations of opinion poll manipulation.

When the Newtamasa reporting team inquired with Jinan County Mayor Jeon Chun-seong's secretary's office about an investigation into election law violations, a representative from the secretary's office replied that they were unaware of anything beyond the mayor's publicly disclosed schedule. They seemed to evade disclosing relevant information by stating they didn't even know if there was a police investigation.

When asked if he knew about the increase of approximately 3,000 anonymous phone numbers, from 7,000 to 10,000, Jinan County Mayor Jeon Chun-seong replied, "I don't know at all." Regarding the fairness of the opinion poll, he stated, "You shouldn't ask me," explaining that the primary election at the time was conducted according to the rules.

Mayor Jeon clarified that since he was unaware of the increase in anonymous phone numbers, he had no connection to the allegations of opinion poll manipulation.

The reporting team emphasized how intensely each candidate's camp prepares for and reacts to opinion polls during elections. They pointed out that it is common practice for camps to obtain information on which organizations conduct polls and when, activate their organizations, and encourage responses during the polling period.

Given these common-sense opinion poll management practices of election camps, the argument was made that it is illogical for the mayor, as the party concerned, to have been unaware of the anonymous phone number increase.

The Anti-Corruption & Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency is actively investigating the allegations of opinion poll manipulation involving the Jinan County Mayor. According to a phone call with a police official, this case involves a large number of people and subjects, making the investigation extensive.

The police are considering the applicability of the Public Official Election Act and aim to resolve the case within the statute of limitations.

A Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency official expressed difficulties, stating that there are many involved parties and subjects in this case, and a vast amount of data, such as call records, needs to be analyzed. He explained that this complaint covers all eight cities and counties within Jeollabuk-do, posing a significant investigative burden.

Therefore, the police believe that a 'selection and concentration' approach to the investigation is necessary depending on the presence of charges, and they plan to proceed swiftly to determine the applicability of the Public Official Election Act.

The reporting team anticipates that the police will announce the results of the investigation into the Jinan County Mayor's opinion poll manipulation case by October at the latest. Considering that the statute of limitations for the Public Official Election Act is six months (until December 2nd), a conclusion must be reached between September and October, factoring in the time for referral to the prosecutor's office.

Despite the broad scope and number of subjects, the police are expected to complete the investigation within this period, and the likelihood of a lenient investigation is considered low.

The core direction of this opinion poll manipulation investigation is to ascertain the connection between each candidate after abnormal manipulation of opinion polls has been confirmed. That is, it is crucial to uncover how each candidate was involved in this manipulation.

The police have detected signs of election brokers' involvement in all eight cities and counties and plan to expand the investigation through account seizures and communication inquiries to focus on finding links between candidates and brokers.