The joint investigation team, led by Kim Tae-hoon, deputy chief prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, has entered a critical phase of its inquiry into the unprecedented voting paper shortage that occurred during the June 3 local elections. The team has secured key evidence and is ramping up its enforcement actions.
According to legal sources on June 14, the investigation team established its office at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on June 9 and plans to complete staffing, data transfers, and administrative groundwork by midweek.
The team has completed searches at seven locations, including the Central Election Management Commission and local election offices in Seoul's Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa, Gwangjin, and Dongjak districts, over a three-day period starting June 11.
Notably, the search of the Central Election Management Commission's server, which contains large volumes of electronic data, continued into the weekend as investigators meticulously reviewed internal messenger conversations, approval records, voting paper printing plans, and budgets.
The police team assigned to the investigation has also been fully organized and is currently classifying and transferring seized materials at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Special Investigation Unit. It is reported that the team is analyzing the seized items over the weekend while gradually transferring relevant materials to the prosecutors.
Once the transfer of investigative materials is complete, the team plans to summon key officials from the Election Commission as witnesses for questioning. Initially, the team is expected to call in staff from the election offices in the affected Gangnam districts and Gwangjin and Dongjak by the end of this week.
The investigation will reconstruct the chaos and response on election day before summoning high-ranking officials, including former Election Commission Chairman Noh Tae-ak and former Secretary General Heo Cheol-hoon, to trace the decision-making process.
On June 12, the investigation team imposed travel bans on 14 key individuals responsible for the crisis, including Noh and Heo. Preliminary investigations have also been conducted with citizens who were unable to vote, election officials, and whistleblowers.
The success of this investigation hinges on proving the intent of Election Commission officials. The search warrants cite violations of the Public Official Election Act (prohibiting election interference by public officials and obstructing the freedom of elections), dereliction of duty, and allegations of embezzlement and breach of trust.
However, under Supreme Court precedents, simple administrative errors or negligence do not warrant criminal penalties. Dereliction of duty charges are also difficult to prove unless it can be shown that an individual knowingly failed to perform their duties.
Consequently, the investigation team will focus on analyzing seized materials and questioning related individuals to track the decision-making processes within the Election Commission and identify the causes of the voting paper shortage.
This crisis arose on June 3, the day of the 9th nationwide local elections, when some polling stations ran out of voting papers. The investigation team confirmed that the Election Commission printed fewer ballots than the number of voters and lacked operational procedures or guidelines to address the shortage.
In response to the crisis, both Noh and Heo resigned, and the Election Commission issued a public apology. Acting Chairman Wi Cheol-hwan stated on June 11 that the decision to set a minimum printing ratio of 50% for ballots was based on an increase in leftover ballots from the previous election and difficulties in inspecting and storing ballots.
Despite this explanation, political parties, including President Lee Jae-myung, have strongly criticized the Election Commission, and protests denouncing the agency have continued at the Olympic Park Handball Stadium in Songpa, which served as a counting center.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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