People Power Party Files Complaint Against Former NEC Chair Over 'Embezzlement'; Parliamentary Probe into 'Ballot Shortage' Begins

[Anchor]

Following our exclusive report that former National Election Commission (NEC) Chairperson Noh Tae-ak traveled abroad with his spouse using public funds, the People Power Party has decided to file a complaint against him on charges of professional embezzlement. A parliamentary investigation into the NEC has also commenced.

Reporter Kim Kwan-jin has the story.

[Reporter]

The fact that former NEC Chairperson Noh Tae-ak was accompanied by his spouse on all three of his overseas business trips during his tenure was first brought to light by an SBS report.

State funds were used to cover the spouse's airfare and accommodation expenses, yet the NEC did not disclose the fact that the trips were "accompanied by a spouse" in its publicly released reports.

The People Power Party announced that it would file a complaint against the former chairperson with the joint investigation headquarters of the prosecution and police for professional embezzlement.

Even within the Democratic Party, criticism has emerged that such "spousal-accompanied trips" are difficult to justify.

[Park Jie-won/Democratic Party Lawmaker (KBS Radio 'Jeongyeok Sisa'): Wasn't he a respected Supreme Court Justice? If he had at least paid for his wife's expenses himself... it is completely incomprehensible.]

The special parliamentary committee tasked with investigating incidents such as the ballot paper shortage during the June 3 local elections began its 45-day operation yesterday.

At the first plenary session held yesterday, the committee appointed People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun as its chair and finalized the scope of the investigation.

The special committee plans to focus on the specific circumstances that led to the suspension of voting due to the failure to supply ballot papers on time, as well as the decision-making process that allowed the use of "unnumbered ballot papers" that lacked serial numbers.

(Video reporting: Lee Seung-hwan, Video editing: Jang Hyun-ki)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.