On the 24th, the People Power Party criticized Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, saying, "He spoke false information about his past claims of fraudulent elections at a debate." This was in response to the candidate's assertion the previous day during a presidential candidate TV debate that the 18th presidential election, in which President Park Geun-hye was elected, was a "fraudulent election," explaining, "The National Intelligence Service manipulated public opinion through comment manipulation, which is why it was called a fraudulent election."

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate, prepares for the 2nd candidate debate of the 21st presidential election organized by the Central Election Broadcasting Debate Commission at the KBS main studio in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul on the 23rd. /Courtesy of News1

The fact-checking team of the People Power Party publicly released a press release that the National Election Commission distributed on Jan. 8, 2017, titled "Strongly urge restraint in raising suspicion of vote rigging by Lee Jae-myung, mayor of Seongnam." According to the document, the Election Commission stated, "We express deep regret over Lee Jae-myung raising suspicions of vote rigging in the 18th presidential election through his Facebook," adding, "There has categorically been no vote rigging, nor could there be."

At that time, Lee Jae-myung, who was the mayor of Seongnam, wrote on Facebook, "(The 18th presidential election) is a fraudulent election that surpasses the 3.15 fraudulent election. Evidence that justifies suspicions of electronic vote rigging is emerging. I support many people who are fighting for manual counting at polling places." This prompted the National Election Commission to issue a statement directly rebutting his claims.

Lee Jun-seok, the Reform Party candidate who raised the issue, also demanded a public apology from candidate Lee Jae-myung. Immediately after the debate the previous day, he posted on social media (SNS), "Candidate Lee Jae-myung, who told blatant lies in the debate, should apologize to the public," adding, "What does it mean to bring up fraudulent elections due to the National Intelligence Service's comments? He is a conspiracy theorist who believed in fraudulent elections like Yoon Seok-youl while claiming manual counting."

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