Five Special Prosecutors Appointed to Investigate Election Commission Scandal

Five special prosecutor assistants have been appointed to investigate allegations surrounding the shortage of ballots during the June 3 local elections.

According to the legal community on September 2, President Yoon Suk Yeol appointed Park Hyuk (22nd Judicial Research and Training Institute), Kim Eun-jung (38th), Kim Sang-cheon (first bar exam), Kwon Geun-hwan (second bar exam), and Kim Jin-woo (third bar exam) as special prosecutor assistants.

Park Hyuk has served as a prosecutor at the Seoul and Changwon District Prosecutors' Offices and has experience working with the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Kim Eun-jung worked as a research officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and served as a prosecutor at the Busan District Prosecutors' Office.

Kim Sang-cheon has experience as a researcher at the National Security Technology Research Institute and has worked as a prosecutor and at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials.

Kwon Geun-hwan has held positions as a police officer at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, a prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and a judge at the Jeonju District Court.

Kim Jin-woo has served as a member of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Investigation Review Committee, an ethics director at the Korean Bar Association, and a legal advisor to the Korean Sports Council.

The special prosecutor assistants will be responsible for investigating cases, maintaining prosecutions, supervising special investigators and dispatched officials, and handling media relations, receiving treatment equivalent to that of a chief prosecutor.

With the appointment of the special prosecutor assistants, the special prosecutor's office will finalize its investigative organization and assign tasks based on the expertise and experience of each assistant.

The special prosecutor stated, "We will conduct the investigation based on objective data and evidence without any preconceived notions or biases, in accordance with the law's defined targets and scope of investigation."

The special prosecutor requested President Yoon to appoint five out of ten candidates for the special prosecutor assistants on August 28.

The special prosecutor's office began operations on August 24 at a temporary office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, and is set to commence full-scale investigations on September 7.