The joint investigation team probing allegations related to the June 3 local elections has conducted its first interrogation of an Election Commission employee regarding suspicions of unauthorized modifications to voter counts. The investigation is also expanding to include inquiries into ballot shortages and allegations surrounding Noh Tae-ak's overseas trips with his spouse.
On July 29, legal sources reported that the joint investigation team, led by Kim Tae-hoon, deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, summoned an employee from the Gyeonggi Election Commission, identified as A, as a suspect for obstructing official duties. This marks the first time the team has interrogated an Election Commission employee in connection with the voter count modification allegations.
A is accused of discussing methods for correcting erroneous voter counts with officials from the Central Election Commission after being approached by a staff member from the Gimpo Election Commission on election day. The investigation team is focusing on whether the figures reflected in the system differed from actual voting data and whether the correction process adhered to internal regulations, based on internal messenger conversations they have obtained.
The team plans to summon Central Election Commission officials soon to clarify the directives for the modifications and the reporting structure. Earlier, during the search and seizure process, evidence was found indicating that voter count modifications occurred not only in Gyeonggi but also in the Chungcheong region.
Documents submitted by the Central Election Commission to the National Assembly's special committee investigating the ballot shortage also confirmed that incorrect voter counts were recorded at polling stations in Jincheon-eup, Jincheon-gun, and Bucheon-dong, Uiwang-si, as well as in Gurae-dong, Gimpo-si.
The Election Commission explained that errors occurred in recording the number of voters at certain polling stations, leading to excessive entries by time slot. To maintain the total voter count at the district level, they instructed staff to distribute the excess entries across other polling stations within the same town or village.
In Gimpo, the cumulative voter count was mistakenly calculated multiple times from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the inflated figures were then redistributed to eight other polling stations. In Jincheon, the input values were kept the same from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Uiwang also recorded more voters than actually participated and maintained those figures until the polls closed.
The investigation team is working to determine whether these modifications were merely corrections of input errors or if they were intended to create statistics that differed from the actual voter counts.
The investigation into the ballot shortage is also gaining momentum. The team has continued to interrogate the election officer and the first election manager from the Songpa Election Commission in Seoul, who are under suspicion of dereliction of duty. They are accused of failing to take appropriate action despite being aware of the potential for ballot shortages at certain polling stations and not responding promptly to requests for additional ballots on-site. This marks the first instance of the team identifying new allegations against Election Commission employees during the investigation.
The inquiry into Noh Tae-ak's overseas trips with his spouse is ongoing. The team summoned a Central Election Commission official as a witness to investigate the circumstances of the trips and the budget execution process. Noh's secretary and others have also been questioned as witnesses.
The team applied for a search warrant for Noh's residence and phone, but the court rejected it, citing insufficient necessity and relevance for the search. However, they did obtain a warrant to search the Central Election Commission chairman's office and are considering reapplying for a warrant after strengthening the allegations based on the materials collected and witness statements.
Noh is under suspicion of embezzlement for failing to report his spouse's presence on three overseas trips during his tenure. He has returned approximately 47 million won in travel expenses to the national treasury and stated that he did not request his spouse to accompany him on these trips.
The joint investigation team plans to continue its investigation into the three major allegations surrounding the Election Commission, focusing on the voter count modifications, ballot shortages, and Noh's overseas trips, while analyzing seized materials and conducting witness interrogations.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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