PPP sends mixed messages on early voting amid fraud conspiracy theories

Officials inspect voting machines and other equipment at a welfare center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Polling stations are set to open nationwide for early in-person voting on Thursday and Friday, ahead of the June 3 election. Yonhap

When Kim Moon-soo accepted the conservative People Power Party’s (PPP) nomination for president in his speech at the party's national convention on May 3, he vowed to abolish the early-voting system, which some extreme conservatives believe can be used for vote rigging.

Despite previously promoting conspiracy theories about early voting, Kim on Sunday urged his supporters to participate in the early-voting process after visiting the birthplace of former first lady Yuk Young-soo, the assassinated wife of former President Park Chung-hee, in North Chungcheong Province.

"Our party pledges to mobilize all available resources to thoroughly monitor and oversee early voting," Kim said, adding that he, too, will cast his ballot during the early voting period.

Kim was expected to face a dilemma over early voting, as many of his conservative supporters remain wary of the system due to lingering election fraud conspiracy theories.

Avoiding or downplaying early voting could have fueled doubts about his position on election integrity, while actively promoting it risked alienating his core base.

In the end, however, his camp appeared to prioritize increasing overall voter turnout— whether through early voting or on Election Day — over concerns about a potential backlash.

The rival Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is criticizing him and his campaign officials for changing their tune on the system they attacked for years amid media reports that Kim is planning to vote early. Polling stations nationwide are set to open for early in-person voting on Thursday and Friday ahead of the June 3 election.

Rep. Han Min-soo, spokesperson for the presidential campaign for the DPK’s candidate Lee Jae-myung, urged Kim to clarify his position on conspiracy theories about "ghost voting" and other election fraud theories surrounding early voting.

“It is comical that a candidate who ran on a promise that he will abolish the early-voting system now plans to participate in it,” Han said on Friday. “What is his position on election conspiracy theories and early voting? … He should take a clear stand after helping spread all these delusions and myths about early voting, which have divided our country.”

Kim has not officially said how and when he will cast his ballot. However, signs have emerged that the PPP may be distancing itself from election-related conspiracy theories in an attempt to boost turnout.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Rep. Shin Dong-uk, chief spokesman for Kim’s campaign, said the party would encourage its supporters to vote early, as its path to victory depends on high voter turnout.

But not all PPP members agree, and remain skeptical of early voting. Actor Choi Jun-yong, who campaigns for Kim as part of a PPP team of celebrities, told an audience gathered in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province, that he would “never vote early” because he distrusts it. Many within the party share that sentiment, with some key party figures publicly calling for its abolition.

This has drawn concern from reformists within the PPP, who reject election fraud claims as conspiracy theories not backed by any hard evidence. They say the party should embrace early voting, arguing that they cannot afford to give liberals any advantage.

“I urge our party candidate Kim Moon-soo to state that he firmly disassociates himself from election conspiracy theories,” Han Dong-hoon, former PPP leader, said in a social media post on Thursday. “The conspiracy theorists argue that we shouldn’t participate in early voting … Then we would have only one day to vote when the DPK supporters have three days to do so. Then we can’t win.”

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol is surrounded by people as he leaves a movie threater in Seoul, Wednesday, after watching a documentary film supporting claims of election fraud. Newsis

Han released this message a day after former President Yoon Suk Yeol sparked controversy by showing up at a movie theater in Seoul to watch a documentary film titled “Rigged Election: An Act of God?”

When he declared martial law in December 2024, an act which eventually led to his impeachment and ouster, Yoon said allegations of election fraud were among the reasons for issuing the emergency decree.

However, Han and many others cast doubt on Yoon’s claim, saying he himself may not even believe such conspiracy theories, given that he took advantage of the early voting system to cast his ballots for the 2022 presidential and the 2024 general elections. Many suspect the former president has simply been catering to the PPP’s hardline support base by telling them what they want to hear.

Earlier this month, the Constitutional Court dismissed an injunction against the implementation of early voting. It was filed last month by a law professor, who also asked the court to review the constitutionality of the law on early voting in October 2023.

In a statement released Thursday, the National Election Commission expressed its regret over attempts to spread falsehoods about its election management system, saying “there is no room for foul play.”