The Election Commission's Special Investigation Team, led by Lee Tae-han, has uncovered evidence of fraudulent transactions among suppliers, indicating potential tax evasion. The investigation has expanded from allegations of collusion and favoritism in the bidding process to include the examination of transaction records between companies.
On October 18, the Special Investigation Team announced that it had identified violations of the Tax Offenses Punishment Act while investigating allegations of bidding corruption and preferential treatment in negotiated contracts. Suppliers reportedly issued and received invoices without actual transactions with companies that participated as dummy bidders.
The team explained that these suppliers engaged in "false transactions to share profits or evade taxes". They aim to determine whether profits were distributed through these fraudulent dealings, beyond merely disguising bidding competition.
On October 16, the Special Investigation Team requested the National Tax Service to expedite its investigation into the suspected violations of the Tax Offenses Punishment Act by the involved companies and to provide results and supporting materials by December 15. Prosecution for violations of this law requires a complaint from the heads of the National Tax Service, regional tax offices, or tax offices, making the tax authority's investigation and potential complaint crucial for the case's outcome.
Among those under investigation is a ballot box manufacturing company operated by a former director of the Central Election Commission, identified as A. A is suspected of using a dummy company to secure contracts for the supply of early voting ballot boxes during the June 3 local elections.
Concerns about repeated contract awards involving A, along with his spouse and son, were previously raised during a National Assembly investigation. At that time, lawmaker Joo Jin-woo of the People Power Party pointed out that three related companies had entered into 103 contracts with the Election Commission, totaling 17.5 billion won, of which 90 were negotiated contracts. The key focus of the Special Investigation is to determine whether these contracts resulted from actual favoritism or collusion.
The Special Investigation Team is also examining the selection process for a supplier that delivered election materials worth 5 billion won during last year's presidential election and this year's local elections. On October 14, they conducted searches at the Central Election Commission and five election supplies companies located in Gimpo and Daegu on charges of breach of trust and obstructing bidding.
The supplier reportedly won the contract despite offering a higher price than two competing companies during the local election bidding. The Special Investigation Team is investigating whether Election Commission employees accepted bribes from the supplier and adjusted the composition of internal evaluation committees and the weighting of technical and price evaluations in favor of that supplier.
However, the mere fact that a higher-priced supplier was selected does not prove favoritism. The evaluation criteria, which set the technical and price scores at 80 to 20, are within permissible limits, so it is essential to verify the rationale behind the evaluation criteria and the fairness of the actual review process. The supplier has denied allegations of favoritism, claiming it was selected based on quality and nationwide delivery capabilities.
The Special Investigation Team stated, "We will thoroughly investigate various allegations of bidding corruption and preferential treatment in negotiated contracts within the limited timeframe, based on the results of the tax audit from the National Tax Service, and clarify accountability."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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