[Exclusive] Poll manipulation allegations emerge in Seoul mayoral election

[Anchor]

Myung Tae-kyun is facing allegations not only of intervening in the nomination process but also of manipulating the results of opinion polls.

Our reporting team confirmed the original data of a survey conducted by Myung's side during the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, revealing signs of manipulation.

Reporter Lee Hyung-kwan has the exclusive report.

[Report]

On Feb. 23, 2021, ahead of the Seoul mayoral by-election, the internal competition within the People Power Party was in full swing.

This is a report on the unpublished opinion poll results from the Future Korea Research Institute.

The number of respondents who completed the survey was 1,366, but the actual original data shows that only 688 people answered all 10 questions.

The final report inflated the actual number of respondents by nearly double, and the results from respondents in their 20s to 40s are particularly suspicious.

When we called a respondent listed as a '30s woman' living in 'Yongsan, Seoul,' it turned out to be a '40s man' living in 'Busan.'

[Survey Respondent at the time/voice altered: "I didn't live in Seoul. I was in Busan? I don't usually answer (survey calls.)"]

The results of the 'hypothetical head-to-head matchup' also changed.

In the original data, candidate Na Kyung-won was ahead of candidate Oh Se-hoon by 6.7 percentage points, but in the final report, this was narrowed down to within the margin of error.

It changed from 'Candidate Na is leading' to 'a close race.'

On the day this opinion poll was conducted, a friend of Mayor Oh Se-hoon, surnamed Kim, sent 7 million won to the Future Korea Research Institute.

[Kim Jeong-ki/Emeritus Professor, Public Administration, Changwon University: "(Non-disclosed polls) could circulate quietly within the party and they might spread false narratives like 'They're neck and neck with our candidate."]

The consolidation poll between Candidate Oh, who won the party primary, and Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party is also questionable.

The number of respondents in the original data was 963, but it was inflated to 1,771 in the report.

In the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, the Future Korea Research Institute conducted 13 unpublished opinion polls related to candidate Oh Se-hoon, and signs of manipulation were confirmed in at least 6 of them.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon denies the allegations of receiving help from Myung.

[Oh Se-hoon/Mayor of Seoul/Nov. 26: "(Rather) it’s to the point where I find it questionable, and I truly cannot understand the current situation."]

The Future Korea Research Institute has been fined three times for conducting unpublished opinion polls with non-representative samples since 2019.

This is KBS News, Lee Hyung-kwan.