The Joint Investigation Team, led by Kim Tae-hoon, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, is investigating the ballot shortage incident during the June 3 local elections. On July 6, the team summoned officials from the Dongjak District Election Commission for questioning. They aim to determine whether the local commission failed to respond appropriately despite being informed by the National Election Commission about the potential for ballot shortages.
According to legal sources, the team is questioning an official from the Dongjak District Election Commission, identified as A, who is a senior staff member responsible for overall election management, including ballot preparation and operations.
The investigation will focus on whether A received communications from the National Election Commission regarding the potential for ballot shortages, when this information was acknowledged, and how directives were implemented on election day. The team will also look into how concerns about ballot shortages were reported and addressed.
Data reported by the National Election Commission to the National Assembly indicates that ballot shortages occurred at 91 polling stations nationwide during the June 3 elections, with one incident reported in Dongjak District.
Following previous investigations of officials from the Songpa District Election Commission, the Joint Investigation Team has also questioned officials from the Gangnam and Seocho District Election Commissions to reconstruct the events surrounding the shortages. This investigation expands the scope to other districts, examining the preparation and response processes of local election commissions.
On June 11, during a search of the National Election Commission's server, the team obtained an email titled 'Guidelines for Vote Management.' This document was sent to local election commissions nationwide on May 31, shortly after early voting concluded.
The email reportedly advised that polling stations with low early voting rates could face ballot shortages and recommended measures such as distributing additional unnumbered ballots.
The Joint Investigation Team believes that some local election commissions were informed of the potential shortages by the National Election Commission but failed to take adequate preemptive or on-site measures. They are particularly scrutinizing whether sufficient preparations were made in areas with low early voting rates, where additional ballots should have been secured based on the guidance received.
The team is also intensifying its investigation into allegations of hiring fraud and budget mismanagement within the Election Commission. Recently, they received five additional police personnel and established a dedicated team, including Im Hong-seok, Chief Prosecutor of the Tongyeong Branch of the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office, and two other prosecutors. This move follows President Lee Jae-myung's remarks on June 23 regarding the expansion of the investigation team and the inquiry into budget and hiring fraud allegations.
The dedicated team will review the hiring fraud case previously transferred from the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office. On June 16, the Southern Gyeonggi Police Agency's Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit referred two individuals, including a current employee of the Gyeonggi Election Commission, to prosecutors on charges of obstructing official duties, violating the National Public Service Act, and document forgery.
Allegations of overseas trips by former Election Commission officials, including Noh Tae-ak, are also under investigation. Noh reportedly made three overseas trips to Germany and other countries accompanied by his spouse, but these trips were not documented in the Election Commission's post-trip reports, leading to accusations of embezzlement.
Additionally, there are allegations regarding Election Commission officials who traveled to the Maldives in September 2023 under the pretext of observing the presidential election, incurring expenses of 14.7 million won. The Joint Investigation Team has previously questioned the legal representative of the People Power Party's Media Special Committee, who filed a complaint against Noh and other officials for embezzlement.
The Joint Investigation Team plans to continue its investigation into the ballot shortage incident with the existing team while addressing additional allegations of hiring fraud and budget waste through the dedicated team.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.