Seoul's early voting results in 2024 parliamentary election misrepresented in viral posts

"425:0, the People Power Party loses all early voting races in Seoul," reads the Korean-language claim shared on Facebook on September 5.

"A total loss for the PPP when it encouraged early voting? Does this make sense?"

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Screenshot of false Facebook post, captured September 5, with a red X added by AFP

The post rehashes a claim widely circulated by former PPP lawmaker Min Kyung-wook, a central figure in South Korea's election fraud conspiracy movement, who has relentlessly promoted "Stop-the-steal" narratives since losing his seat in the 2020 election (archived link). 

On April 16, 2024 -- days after the Democratic Party won a landslide in that year's parliamentary election -- he posted on Facebook: "Seoul 425:0, verify the Democratic Party candidates' unbeaten record in early voting! It's a carbon copy of April 15. Investigate the April 10 election fraud!" (archived link).

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Screenshot of the false post shared by Min Kyung-wook in April 2024, with a red X added by AFP

His message has since spread among dozens of conservative users and groups on Facebook, where supporters argue the result proves ballots were manipulated.

These unfounded allegations helped underpin former president Yoon Suk Yeol's drastic declaration of martial law -- justified by him as a necessary response to "election fraud" and "anti-state forces" (archived link).

He dispatched troops to the NEC and attempted to suppress legislative activity, creating a self-coup scenario unprecedented since the 1980s (archived link).

South Korean early voting has long been a target for unfounded allegations (archived link). The DP has historically performed more strongly in advance ballots than in election-day voting, largely due to higher turnout among younger and more progressive demographics who often favour early voting. 

Some conservative commentators have seized on this pattern as "evidence" of rigging, despite repeated audits and court rulings upholding the integrity of the system (archived link). 

But the claim that the Democratic Party won early voting in all 425 neighbourhoods in Seoul is false. 

Official data

An AFP analysis of certified results from the NEC for the April 10, 2024 parliamentary election shows the DP won a strong majority of early-voting neighbourhoods in Seoul but not all (archived link). 

Out of 425 administrative neighbourhoods (dong), the DP led in 380, while the People Power Party (PPP) led in 45.

In Gangnam A District, traditionally one of the strongest conservative bases in Seoul, the NEC's official tallies show a mixed picture (archived link). The Democratic Party managed to capture two neighbourhoods:

• Nonhyeon 1-dong: DP 1,709 vs PPP 1,437
• Yeoksam 1-dong: DP 2,240 vs PPP 1,751

But the PPP retained its dominance across the rest of the district:

• Nonhyeon 2-dong: DP 1,338 vs PPP 1,649
• Sinsa-dong: DP 1,054 vs PPP 1,884
• Apgujeong-dong: DP 904 vs PPP 2,909
• Yeoksam 2-dong: DP 2,822 vs PPP 3,135
• Cheongdam-dong: DP 1,189 vs PPP 2,233

The DP also won most neighbourhoods in the Yeongdeungpo B District, a more progressive-leaning area (archived link).

• Daerim 1-dong: DP 2,170 vs PPP 1,391
• Daerim 2-dong: DP 1,550 vs PPP 888
• Daerim 3-dong: DP 2,433 vs PPP 1,403
• Singil 1-dong: DP 2,166 vs PPP 1,254
• Singil 4-dong: DP 1,525 vs PPP 1,006
• Singil 5-dong: DP 1,390 vs PPP 852
• Singil 6-dong: DP 3,160 vs PPP 2,121
• Singil 7-dong: DP 2,090 vs PPP 1,638

But the PPP managed to edge out the DP in Yeouido-dong:

• Yeouido-dong: PPP 3,528 vs DP 2,608

These results show that while the DP dominated early voting in many areas, the PPP still secured early-vote leads in multiple neighbourhoods.

"Based on the certified results, the Democratic Party won early voting in 380 neighbourhoods, while the People Power Party won in 45," an NEC spokesperson said on September 5, adding that AFP's calculations were correct.

"Any claim of a 425-to-0 result is inaccurate."

AFP previously debunked multiple claims of fraud surrounding the 2024 parliamentary elections.