Special Counsel Conducts First Raid on Noh Tae-ak's Home Amid Election Commission Official's Death

[Anchor]

The special counsel team investigating the National Election Commission has conducted its first search and seizure at the home of former National Election Commission Chairperson Noh Tae-ak over suspicions of lavish overseas business trips. Following the discovery of an election commission official who had been questioned by the special counsel dead, the special counsel team expressed condolences while maintaining that there was no coercive investigation.

Here is a report from reporter Kim Minjun.

[Reporter]

The special counsel team announced that it executed a search and seizure warrant at the residence of former National Election Commission Chairperson Noh Tae-ak starting at 8:10 a.m. yesterday (October 21).

This search and seizure of former Chairperson Noh's residence is the first of its kind since the launch of the joint prosecution-police investigation headquarters last July. Twelve officials, including two dispatched prosecutors, were deployed to secure former Chairperson Noh's mobile phone and other items.

The special counsel team also raided the National Election Commission office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, securing records related to overseas trips.

Former Chairperson Noh is suspected of taking his spouse along on three overseas trips—including to Australia—during his term in office and covering the expenses using 160 million won from the election commission budget.

Regarding the suspicions surrounding former Chairperson Noh's overseas trips, the special counsel team explained that it detected circumstances in which National Election Commission officials entered false information into official documents such as overseas trip report forms, prompting the search and seizure on charges including occupational embezzlement and creation of false official documents.

Meanwhile, an official from the National Election Commission in their 40s, identified as Mr. A, who had undergone questioning by the special counsel as a suspect on charges including breach of trust, was found dead in a flowerbed near an apartment complex in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, at around 7 a.m. yesterday.

A suicide note found at the scene reportedly contained expressions of unfairness regarding the election commission investigation. Police stated, "There are no signs of criminal activity such as homicide, and we have requested an autopsy for Mr. A."

The National Election Commission released a statement saying, "It is regrettable that an official who underwent late-night questioning suffered extreme psychological pressure from ongoing investigations and lost a precious life."

In response, the special counsel team stated, "We express our condolences to the deceased," while expressing regret and adding, "The official was questioned only once, there was no late-night questioning, and the atmosphere was not coercive."

(Photo: Yonhap News / Video reporting: Lee Chan-su, Video editing: Choi Jin-hwa, VJ: Kim Hyeong-jin)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.