South Korea held its presidential election on June 3. The leader of the left-wing Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, was declared the winner with 49.42% of the vote over the right-wing People’s Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo. There are valid reasons for both Koreans and Americans to question whether this was a truly free and fair election.

There are numerous instances of suspected fraud and strong reasons to believe that the electronic voting system administered by Korea’s National Election Commission (NEC) was subject to interference by South Korean actors, North Korea, and the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Four profound problems with this election call its legitimacy into question.

First, the NEC operates with complete opacity and lacks accountability, raising the critical question: “Who guards the guardians of the election?” The NEC is not subject to oversight by the South Korean National Assembly, the president, or the media. Accordingly, it is impossible to accept this result with the fidelity necessary to merit the declaration that this was an open and transparent election. The election system is vulnerable to cyber intrusion, as was demonstrated in 2023, when the National Intelligence Service successfully breached it as part of a white-hat operation to test the system’s security. The PRC and North Korea have formidable cyber capabilities and a great interest in the outcome of the election to ensure the victory of their preferred candidate, Lee. If the NEC were open and accountable, there would be stronger grounds for international confidence in the election results. As it stands, however, serious concerns remain about whether the election was truly free and fair.

Second, there was a great disparity between early voting and election-day voting results. Lee received 37.96% of the election-day vote (June 3) but only 63.72% in early voting (held from May 26 to May 30). Kim won 53% on election day but only 26.44% in early voting. Their total vote shares were 49.42% and 41.15%, respectively. Kim won election day votes by 15%; he lost the early vote by more than 37 points, resulting in an overall defeat by 8.27 points. A disparity of up to 27.28 points between two voting periods just days apart, involving the same electorate, is a statistical anomaly seldom seen in democratic elections.

Third, exit polls conducted by South Korea’s main traditional media broadcasters overstated support for Lee and understated support for Kim, with even greater discrepancies when compared to election day votes alone. These exit polls were released just before the counting began, heavily influencing public perception and potentially affecting voter behavior. Broadcasters and the NEC must disclose their methodologies, respondent samples, and statistical processing methods, as transparency is essential to ensuring free and fair elections.

Fourth, numerous web postings, videos, photographs, and field reports from civic observers and watchdog groups revealed consistent patterns across the country. Notable allegations include inflated official turnout figures, tampering with or obstruction of ballot seals, pristine unfolded ballots that suggest ballot pre-stuffing, suspected instances of duplicate voting and false identification, and reports of CCTV being disabled or observers being obstructed. These issues point to potential systemic flaws or coordinated interference in the electoral process. The NEC should initiate immediate and independent investigations into these credible reports.

Democracy depends on free and fair elections. That is the ground truth of South Korean democracy, just as it is for the United States. Just as sunlight is the best disinfectant, openness and transparency are essential conditions for any commission entrusted with the enormous responsibility of conducting an election, ensuring that it is free and fair, and ensuring that malevolent actors like North Korea and the PRC do not exert influence or manipulate the outcome.

When official election commissions lack transparency and dismiss legitimate concerns as mere “conspiracy theories,” public confidence in electoral integrity is undermined. In such cases, the international community must focus on protecting those intrepid individual whistleblowers, concerned citizens, and others who call attention to corruption and violations of law.

The U.S. suffered about 140,000 killed and wounded during the Korean War, while South Korea endured about 600,000 casualties. Built on that foundation of sacrifice, the ROK-U.S. alliance has remained strong and prosperous. In a dangerous world—where surrounding nations seek to undermine this great alliance—free, fair, and transparent elections are not only the first line of defense against such threats but also what distinguishes the ROK from those tyrannical regimes. South Korea won its freedom at tremendous cost and with the strong support of its ally, the United States. Election integrity is essential for sustaining that freedom. The international community must come together to ensure that this free nation can continue to defend its liberty, as South Korea’s freedom stands as a decisive geopolitical force in safeguarding the liberal order in East Asia.

Mina Kim is the Founder of Build Up Korea.