Special Prosecutors to Review Investigation Status at Election Commission

The Special Prosecutors' team investigating allegations of a shortage of ballots during the June 3 local elections will receive technical advice from forensic experts at the National Election Commission.

According to the Special Prosecutors' office, three digital forensic advisory members appointed by the team will visit the National Election Commission at around 10:30 a.m. on October 13 to assess the management of the election system and the progress of the forensic investigation, providing relevant professional and technical advice.

The advisory members participating in this site visit include Professor Lee Sang-jin from Korea University, Professor Won Yu-jip from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and Professor Lee Byung-young from Seoul National University. The Special Prosecutors plan to actively consider the opinions and advice presented by the advisory members during the site verification process.

Since September 22, the Special Prosecutors have stationed forensic investigators within the National Election Commission to directly verify the existence of materials related to allegations of election statistics manipulation, mismanagement of the election system, and security operations, as well as to ensure the submission of necessary documents.

Previously, on September 17, the Special Prosecutors conducted searches at ten election offices, including the National Election Commission, and have completed an initial analysis of the seized items, which will inform further investigations of related individuals.

In connection with this, the Special Prosecutors extended the travel ban on former National Election Commission Chairman Noh Tae-ak at the end of last month with the approval of the Ministry of Justice. Noh is currently under investigation for abuse of authority, dereliction of duty, embezzlement, and breach of trust related to the ballot shortage incident, along with other commission officials.

The scope of the Special Prosecutors' investigation includes allegations of infringement on voting rights due to ballot shortages, manipulation of election statistics such as voter turnout counts, mismanagement of important election materials like ballot storage boxes, and various corruption allegations involving current and former commission members and staff, among other related incidents identified during the investigation.