People buy lottery tickets at a shop in Jongno District, Seoul, known as a "Lotto hotspot," Jan. 30. Yonhap

Online communities are once again buzzing with conspiracy theories after two first-prize winning Lotto tickets — both purchased through automatic selection — were sold at the same retail store. Skeptics argue that the odds of such an occurrence are extremely low, fueling speculation about possible manipulation in the lottery system.

According to Donghaeng Lottery, the official operator of Korea's Lotto, 16 people won the first prize in the 1,161st drawing on March 1, correctly matching all six numbers. Each winner will receive 1.79 billion won ($1.34 million).

Of the 16 winners, 10 purchased their tickets using the automatic selection method. Two of these tickets were bought from the same store, a lottery shop in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province.

The revelation quickly sparked debate in various online communities. While manually selected winning tickets have previously been sold in multiples at a single retailer, users pointed out that multiple first-prize winners emerging from the automatic selection at the same store are extremely rare.

One netizen, posting in a major online forum under the title “Two automatic Lotto jackpot winners from one place?” questioned the statistical likelihood of such an event.

“This doesn't make sense,” the post read. “How is it possible for two people to win the jackpot at the same store with automatic selection? Is this mathematically or probabilistically feasible?”

The user further argued that transparency measures should be strengthened, citing the U.S. lottery systems, Powerball and Mega Millions, which often disclose jackpot winners' identities.

“The government should investigate and clarify whether additional first-prize winners are being inserted into the system after the drawing,” said the post, which attracted hundreds of comments debating the issue.

This is not the first time lottery manipulation theories have surfaced. In the past, similar suspicions arose after an unusually high number of first-prize winners.

An official from Donghaeng Lottery during a live Lotto drawing program, where the lottery operator invited more than 150 journalists and ordinary citizens in June 2023. Captured from YouTube

In response, the Ministry of Economy and Finance's Lottery Commission authorized a study in 2023 by two expert institutions, including Seoul National University's Statistical Research Institute, to examine the possibility of manipulation.

The study concluded that lottery results could not be tampered with and that multiple simultaneous winners were statistically possible.

To further ensure transparency, Donghaeng Lottery invited more than 150 journalists and members of the public to observe a live drawing in June 2023. A similar event took place in November, with 100 general participants witnessing the draw in real time.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.