According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, the team is coordinating the schedule with police, the National Assembly and the National Election Commission. A method of checking ballots one by one in front of observers is under review, and opening the process to the press and public is being discussed. The aim is to raise transparency given how long suspicions have lasted. Munhwa Ilbo explained that this is evidence verification, different in nature from a recount, which re-checks ballots when a result is disputed.

According to Munhwa Ilbo, the team launched on September 7 and has up to 150 days to investigate the ballot shortage, forced counting, alleged manipulation of voting statistics, as well as junket-style business trips by commission staff, hiring and promotion favoritism and no-bid contract favoritism. It reported that a joint prosecution-police investigation headquarters originally handled the case, but a special counsel was introduced after calls for independent investigation given the voting-rights issues involved.

The Handball Gymnasium served as a counting station on June 3. The Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that protesters who had rallied at Jamsil 7-dong's second polling station followed when the commission moved ballot boxes to the venue and blockaded it, leaving it effectively closed for 95 days. The protesters first alleged a violation of voting rights and later widened their claims to alleged early-voting manipulation and improper counting. At the October 7 parliamentary audit, acting NEC secretary-general Kang Dong-wan said he felt responsible for the delayed recount and would work with the special counsel so verification happens as soon as possible.

For a public verification to carry meaning, trust in the procedure is key. Checking ballots reported at around 2.47 million would require considerable time, staff and police site management. The Herald Business earlier reported an estimate of about nine hours and roughly 50 million won, and how observer access and record-keeping are set will shape how readily the result is accepted.

Variables remain. The Kyunghyang Shinmun expected that protests may continue even if verification finds no problems, but that the blockade's justification would weaken and momentum fade. A separate controversy arose after a document photo President Lee Jae-myung posted on social media on September 29 partly revealed wording about Olympic Park, prompting questions about whether the investigation's status had been reported to the Blue House. The Blue House said verification was postponed only because of a police security report, and the special counsel said it is investigating independently under law and principle and that the reporting allegation is untrue.