South Korean prosecutors and police raided the headquarters of the National Election Commission (NEC), the country's electoral oversight body, in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, on Thursday after detecting evidence that employees manipulated voter turnout statistics to conceal errors during the June 3 local elections. Investigators suspect staff altered figures in the NEC's computer system without authorisation, redistributing inflated turnout numbers across multiple polling stations to disguise the discrepancies rather than following the official correction process. The probe, which also targeted NEC branch offices in three Seoul districts, marks a serious escalation from earlier investigations into ballot shortages on Election Day that left some voters unable to cast their ballots, as deliberate data manipulation carries far graver legal consequences than administrative negligence.