![Myung Tae-kyun (right) arrives at the Changwon Jungbu Police Station in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, on June 20. (Yonhap)]](https://contents-cdn.viewus.co.kr/image/2025/07/CP-2023-0309/30694633.jpg)
As the prosecution investigates allegations of rigged pre-election polls related to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, new evidence suggests that surveys were also manipulated to downplay Yoon’s support compared to his main rival, current President Lee Jae Myung.
In contrast to other alleged fabrications, this particular poll was skewed in favor of Lee, who was the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate and eventual runner-up in the 2022 race.
Myung is accused of manipulating poll results in multiple elections involving Yoon and other conservative figures, including Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon. Investigators are probing his alleged connections to the disgraced former president, Yoon’s controversial wife Kim Keon Hee, and other prominent individuals.
The latest media reports reveal that the original results of the manipulated survey showed 492 respondents supporting Yoon and 334 favoring Lee. However, Min’s firm allegedly altered the data to show Lee narrowly ahead, 747 to 738.
Kang Hye-kyung, a former employee at Myung’s polling agency and a key whistleblower in the case, reportedly told prosecutors that the results were changed because “it would look weird if Yoon stood out too much.”
Prosecutors believe Myung’s team frequently adjusted poll results to create the appearance of a neck-and-neck race, thereby encouraging conservative voters to consolidate their support behind Yoon.
A key allegation against Myung involves the manipulation of a poll conducted on September 17, 2021, related to the People Power Party’s primary race. A phone recording between Kang and Myung reportedly reveals that Myung instructed her to alter the results, including reducing the approval rating of Yoon’s rival Hong Joon-pyo’s TV debate performance by four percentage points.
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