Jinan County Chief Candidate Exposes Signs of Manipulation: '3,000 Safe Numbers Surged'

It was revealed that approximately 3,000 safe numbers in Jinan County surged just before Chuseok in September 2025. The safe numbers, originally around 7,400, suddenly increased to 10,000, with an influx of 600 from SK, 1,000 from KT, and 1,400 from LG, according to telecommunication carriers.

The host stated, "Ahead of Chuseok in September 2025, the safe numbers, which were originally around 7,000, suddenly increased to 10,000. They increased by as many as 3,000."

Preliminary candidate Han Su-yong revealed that he consistently ranked first in Democratic Party member opinion polls until the safe number surge allegations were raised, showing a higher approval rating than the incumbent county chief.

He emphasized his competitiveness at the time, stating, "Until the August poll last year, I was always first in the Democratic Party member opinion polls; even ahead of the incumbent county chief."

Preliminary candidate Han Su-yong mentioned the burner phone poll manipulation case that occurred in 2022 in five counties with populations under 30,000, including Jinan, Muju, Jangsu, Imsil, and Sunchang, pointing out similarities with the current incident. At the time, Freasian extensively reported on this case, but during the police investigation, it was difficult to obtain search warrants for the three telecommunication companies, making it hard to catch the real culprits.

As a result, those who actually benefited from the poll manipulation were able to avoid punishment, suggesting investigative limitations that could be repeated in the current Jinan County safe number surge allegations.

Jinan County has one of the highest proportions of elderly residents nationwide, with approximately 400 deaths and only about 20 births annually, leading to a population decrease of 200-300 people each year. It was pointed out that despite these demographic statistics, a sudden increase of 3,000 safe numbers in just one month is not logically understandable.

Preliminary candidate Han Su-yong emphasized the contradiction between the region's population decline and the surge in safe numbers, stating, "Jinan's population, because it has a lot of elderly people, almost the most elderly people in the country, on average, I am telling you based on statistics, around 400 people pass away per year."

Preliminary candidate Han Su-yong explained that safe numbers are primarily assigned based on numbers opened by telecommunication companies within the last two years, and even if unrelated to the actual residence, if the billing address is set to a specific region, that number can be classified as a safe number for that region. He raised the possibility that election brokers might exploit this point to manipulate safe numbers by allocating numbers secured nationwide to specific regions.

He detailed the specific manipulation method, saying, "When you go to open a cell phone, you show your ID and open it, and they ask you where you want your billing address to be. If you write down an address in Jinan for the billing address, that number is registered as a safe number for Jinan County."

It is pointed out that such methods can be illegally used to create favorable public opinion for a specific candidate in election primaries, and a thorough investigation is needed to determine if the actual surge in Jinan County safe numbers was due to such methods.