New 탐사 Exposes 'Secret of Jung Cheong-rae's 50.7% Vote Share'... Raises Suspicion of Public Opinion Poll Manipulation

Just before the party convention, Lee Jong-won stated, 'Tomorrow, we must win by the largest possible margin in Seoul and then overturn it in the final national opinion poll.' This shows that he had announced his plan to overturn the final result through the opinion poll results before the Seoul primary. In fact, candidate Jung Cheong-rae achieved a 50.7% vote share only in the national opinion poll, leading to his final victory.

This primary was structured so that only the results could be known according to the detailed rules, and the institution that conducted the opinion poll was also not disclosed. This lack of transparency amplified the controversy as the results were diametrically opposed to the trend of party member and delegate votes.

As a result of calculating the 30% reflection rate of the national opinion poll in reverse by the number of voters, it was analyzed that one respondent's vote in the opinion poll was equivalent to 84 party member votes. This reveals a structural imbalance that makes the principle of 'one person, one vote' meaningless. The ratio of 70% party member votes to 30% national opinion poll created a significant difference in vote value.

Candidate Lee Seong-yoon recorded a 3% higher vote share in the Supreme Council opinion poll, and candidate Han Min-soo also gained a 1.94% higher vote share. Other candidates, on the contrary, received fewer votes in the opinion poll than in the party member vote. These results raised suspicions of systematic intervention in the opinion poll.

The current affairs channel '시사타파' shared ARS opinion poll questions in real-time during its broadcast. Supporters sent recorded versions to Lee Jong-won, and he played them on the broadcast, suggesting organized efforts to elicit responses favorable to specific candidates. This was intended to help people immediately recognize and respond to national opinion polls when similar surveys came in.

On August 13th, the day before the national opinion poll began, the '시사타파' channel strongly encouraged Jung Cheong-rae's supporters to unblock 080 and 070 numbers to participate in as many opinion polls as possible. This broadcast announcement was part of sharing real-time information to encourage voting.

Lee Jong-won subtly suggested on broadcast that it would be good to state the region as Gangwon-do, Daegu, or Gyeongbuk during opinion polls. This is interpreted as inducing false responses to be included in the regional sample. In the real-time chat, examples were shared of people successfully responding by faking their region according to instructions.

Lee Jong-won instructed supporters to state their age as 20s-30s when receiving a poll call, and to avoid responding if 40s-60s responses were already full, emphasizing quick wit. He used the term 'sensibly' as a code word to induce false responses among supporters. This remark is seen as a systematic operation to increase the response rate of a specific age group.

Immediately after the term 'sense' was mentioned in the broadcast, a response of 'I did it sensibly' appeared in the real-time chat window within 42 seconds. This is analyzed as evidence that 'sense' was not just a simple expression but a code name for 'sense operation'.

The code word 'sense' used by Lee Jong-won actually served to instruct respondents to lie about their region and age. Listeners were confirmed to be giving false responses such as Gangwon-do, Daegu/Gyeongbuk, and 20s, and Lee Jong-won claimed that such false responses were advantageous for vote acquisition in opinion polls. This is pinpointed as a core part of systematic public opinion manipulation.

The participation of individuals without party membership in opinion polls just before the party convention was pointed out as a problem. Theoretically, it was analyzed that one vote from these individuals could have 160 times the effect of an actual party member's vote. Evidence of organized encouragement for participation, likening this situation to a 'lottery,' was found.

New 탐사 criticized that Jung Cheong-rae, as party leader, failed to properly discipline the '1 person, 17 votes' controversy in a past primary, leading to the moral paralysis of 'Team Jung Cheong-rae'. It is argued that this lack of disciplinary action encouraged the current systematic distortion of opinion polls. It was also pointed out that participating in opinion polls using multiple mobile phones has become the 'new normal'.

When a case was revealed where a wife answered a call received on her husband's phone and voted, it was criticized as virtually proxy voting. Voices also criticized the ambiguity of ethical judgment within the party, comparing it to a past case in Suncheon. The act of borrowing the names of family members who are indifferent to politics to vote raised concerns about undermining the 'one person, one vote' principle. It was also worried that if such behavior were carried out systematically, it could seriously affect fair primaries.

During the broadcast conversation, names of opinion poll organizations such as 'Metavoice' were exposed. Information that samples for Seoul and Gyeonggi regions were already closed in the morning was shared, and evidence emerged that respondents shared real-time information about supporting specific candidates (Jung Cheong-rae, Lee Seong-yoon, etc.) and inducing responses.

Cases were confirmed where party members over 60 years old faked their age as 20s when responding, and arbitrarily changed their region of residence. An atmosphere emerged where these actions were proudly shared, called 'sense' and 'quick wit'.

A case was found where a mother responded on behalf of her son, who had no interest in politics. Evidence showed the mother using a speakerphone to call out candidate numbers and induce voting. Panelists analyzed this as a typical case of proxy voting and suggested it could constitute a violation of election rules.

Information that the Gwangju 50s male sample was already full was disseminated as if from a command center. When the sample closed, instructions were given to induce responses by faking other regions or ages. New 탐사 pointed out that while advocating for the 'one person, one vote' principle, a '1 person, 80 votes mobilization controversy' occurred just before the party convention.

The current affairs channel '시사타파' criticized the Democratic Party's Election Commission, arguing it hindered voting participation, and dismissed its warning. Lee Jong-won made remarks expressing confidence that if candidate Jung Cheong-rae won, all controversies regarding irregularities would be buried. He also made expectant remarks that Han Dong-soo, the head of the ethics tribunal, would turn a blind eye. He showed a strong stance, saying, 'What is the Democratic Party's Election Commission doing? It's a national assembly where a lawmaker sets up a camp, and it's 'pro-Lee innocent, pro-Jung guilty.' Just worry about yourselves. I'll take care of everything.'

Two days before the final national opinion poll results were released on August 15, Lee Jong-won made remarks expressing confidence, saying, 'We will unconditionally win the general opinion poll.' He claimed that '시사타파's' response to the opinion poll was decisive and shared his strategy of focusing on the 4,000-sample first-come, first-served method. These pre-emptive confidence remarks lend weight to the claim of systematic intervention.

Suspicions were raised that respondents were induced to falsify their information to secure regional and age-group quotas first. Cases of organized responses from about 200 supporters were presented, and New 탐사 claimed that these 'disguised responses' were the background to Jung Cheong-rae's 50.7% vote share.

Evidence was secured that opinion poll phone numbers were disclosed in the '시사타파' chat room on August 14. Repeated responses by specific users were also confirmed. New 탐사 stated that it is preserving these real-time records and announced legal action.

Lee Jong-won sued New 탐사, and New 탐사 also sued Lee Jong-won, making a legal battle a reality. New 탐사 stated that it had already undergone an investigation as a complainant against Lee Jung-hoon. During this process, New 탐사 appealed for financial difficulties, stating that its legal support fund had run out.