Special Counsel Raids 9 Locations, Including National Election Commission, in Full-Scale Probe

The special counsel team led by Lee Tae-han, tasked with investigating the shortage of ballot papers during the June 3 local elections, has launched a full-scale coercive investigation 10 days after its official inauguration.

Starting around 9:10 a.m. today (September 17), the special counsel team dispatched special counsel assistants, prosecutors, and investigators to a total of nine locations, including the National Election Commission (NEC) and regional election offices, to conduct raids.

This marks the first time the special counsel team has conducted a seizure and search since its official launch on September 7.

The targeted locations include the NEC headquarters as well as regional election offices in Gyeonggi Province, Incheon, Busan, and Daegu.

A total of 75 personnel—including 1 special counsel assistant, 6 prosecutors, 68 investigators, and 22 forensic experts—were deployed to the raid sites to secure materials such as internal servers.

During the local elections, shortages of ballot papers led to long queues for voters in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, and Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. Immediately after the election, according to NEC announcements, voting was also temporarily halted due to ballot shortages in areas such as Buk-gu, Busan, and Dong-gu, Daegu.

The special counsel team is probing 12 allegations, which include the ballot paper shortage during the local elections, manipulation of voting statistics, overseas junkets by election commission officials, preferential hiring and promotions, and preferential private contracts and collusion with businesses.

The special counsel team has been reviewing the original investigative records and evidentiary data handed over by the joint prosecution-police investigation headquarters, which previously probed the case. On September 8, the team summoned and questioned the secretary-general of the civic group People's Livelihood Measures Committee, which had filed a complaint against former NEC Chairperson Noh Tae-ak.

The special counsel team stated, "This search and seizure is to secure materials related to the 9th National Simultaneous Local Election ballot shortage and other issues stipulated in the Special Counsel Act on the Election Commission."

After reviewing the materials acquired from today's raids, the special counsel team plans to decide on additional searches and whether to summon relevant figures, including former Chairperson Noh Tae-ak.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.