Special Prosecutor Lee Tae-han on Election Commission Probe: "Hope to Restore Public Trust in Election System Through Verification"

Special Prosecutor Lee Tae-han, who is leading the investigation into the ballot paper shortage incident during the June 3 local elections, stated that he hopes the ad-hoc ballot verification will help restore public trust in the election system.

Special Prosecutor Lee made the remarks around 9:40 a.m. today (the 28th) on the first floor of the Handball Gymnasium at Seoul Olympic Park before commencing the official ballot paper verification.

"The special counsel team is well aware of the public distrust in South Korea's election system, which was encapsulated by the shortage of local election ballots and the suspension of voting, and we are approaching this investigation with a heavy sense of responsibility and vigilance," he said.

"We earnestly hope that this verification and the ongoing investigation will serve as an opportunity to improve current election management affairs and restore public trust in the election system," he added.

Prior to the verification, Special Prosecutor Lee explained that today's inspection targets are largely divided into three categories: closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, ballot papers, and equipment.

First, CCTV footage will be used to check for any external intrusions.

Special Prosecutor Lee explained that the CCTV footage was secured through a seizure and search operation yesterday, and the verification will take place at the special counsel team's office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, today.

For the ballot papers, the total quantity and printing status will be checked. If any abnormal ballots are discovered during this process, they will be separated for detailed appraisal.

The National Forensic Service (NFS) of the police will be mobilized for the primary appraisal.

Finally, equipment such as ballot sorters will be collected separately to examine potential errors, including susceptibility to hacking.

Special Prosecutor Lee added, "The scope and targets for this part may vary depending on the results of the ballot verification."

Today, the special counsel team plans to verify approximately 2.47 million ballot papers from Songpa-gu and on-site CCTV footage at the Handball Gymnasium in Seoul Olympic Park.

This comes 147 days after the June 3 local elections.

The verification is taking place with the attendance of about 100 observers selected by the National Assembly, including ruling and opposition lawmakers, and watched by some 50 journalists.

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