Koreans Flock to Witness Lottery Draw amid Doubts of Manipulation

People line up to buy lottery tickets at a shop in northern Seoul on Feb. 7, 2019. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, June 2 (Korea Bizwire) — In an unprecedented demonstration of public engagement, a multitude of individuals applied to participate in a special event that aimed to address concerns regarding the integrity of lottery draws in South Korea.

DongHang Lottery Co., the current authorized lottery licensee, and MBC, a public broadcaster responsible for conducting the draws, accepted applications for audience attendance over a period of approximately ten days starting from May 16.

Consequently, around 1,700 people submitted applications to join the event, surpassing the allotted audience quota of 150 by a significant margin.

An average of only 15 members of the public have been present during the weekly lottery drawing broadcasts, making this occasion the first to welcome such a substantial number of attendees.

A select group of individuals will have the opportunity to witness the lottery drawing preparation process and rehearsal from 6:10 p.m. to 8:50 p.m. this Saturday at MBC TV’s headquarters in western Seoul, while also attending the live lottery drawing broadcast.

“Due to the recent surge in the number of first and second-prize lotto winners, public interest in the lottery has soared,” said Hong Deok-gi, CEO of DongHang Lottery.

J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)