Joint Investigation Team Seizes Central Election Commission for Second Day Amid 'Voter Turnout Manipulation' Suspicions

The Joint Investigation Team of prosecutors and police (headed by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-hoon), which is investigating allegations of voter turnout manipulation by the National Election Commission (NEC), is conducting a search and seizure of the central NEC servers for the second consecutive day.

Following yesterday (July 23), the Joint Investigation Team is continuing to examine the computers of key suspects and the central NEC servers today.

The suspected manipulation of voter turnout statistics captured by the Joint Investigation Team involves allegations that when the number of voters at a specific polling station was incorrectly entered differently from reality on the day of local election main voting, the error was not corrected through upper-level reporting, but rather covered up by splitting and entering the figures into polling stations in other regions.

The Joint Investigation Team stated that it specified charges of falsification of official electronic records and obstruction of official duties by deception in the search and seizure warrant, and booked officials from the central NEC and the Gyeonggi Provincial Election Commission as suspects.

Meanwhile, regarding allegations of a "junket-style overseas business trip" involving former Central Election Commission Chairman Noh Tae-ak, the Joint Investigation Team summoned and is questioning three officials from the Election Management Division and the Organization and Administration Division of the central NEC today.

In addition, regarding the "ballot paper shortage incident," the head of the election office for Dongjak-gu, Seoul, is being summoned and questioned as a suspect, along with two officials from the Election Division 1 of the central NEC as reference witnesses.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.