Exclusive: Election Budget Misappropriated for Staff Salaries

[Anchor]

The controversies surrounding the National Election Commission (NEC) seem endless. An SBS investigation has confirmed that the NEC used budget funds allocated for election preparations to cover staff salaries. One of the reasons cited was a mass return of employees from leave immediately after the election, at a time when they were needed most.

Son Hyung-ahn reports exclusively.

[Reporter]

SBS has obtained records showing that the National Election Commission (NEC) used budget funds for purposes other than their original intent over the past three years, starting from 2023.

The total amount reached 30.4 billion won across 255 instances over three years: 3.6 billion won in 4 instances in 2023, 24.1 billion won in 154 instances in 2024, and 2.6 billion won in 97 instances in 2025.

Where was this money diverted to?

Out of the 255 instances of misuse, 212, or 83%, were used to cover "labor costs."

Funds originally earmarked for "election management and supply management," "entrusted election management," "election debate broadcasts," and "international exchange projects" were diverted to pay salaries.

The total amount over three years was 7.3 billion won. The highest amount, 5.9 billion won, occurred in 2024, the year of the National Assembly election. The NEC explained to the National Assembly that this was "due to the high number of employees returning from leave."

According to data on NEC employees on leave obtained by SBS, the number of staff on leave peaked at 176 around the time of the April 2024 general election, then showed a downward trend, with 114 on leave at the end of September and 127 at the end of December.

As the number of employees on leave decreased after the election, the number of active staff increased by 40 to 50. This led to an increase in year-end labor costs, including annual leave compensation and performance-based bonuses, which the NEC covered by pulling funds from other budget categories.

[Kim Gi-hyeon / People Power Party Lawmaker: Since the budget is funded by taxpayers' money, it must be used in accordance with the purposes reviewed by the National Assembly. However, the unchecked NEC has been operating it as if it were their own pocket money.]

In response, the NEC stated that the internal transfer of budget funds falls within the exceptional scope delegated by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and is not a violation of the law. They further explained that in 2024, the increase in labor costs was due not only to the number of returning staff but also to the introduction of manual vote counting.

Reported by Son Hyung-ahn | Video by Lee Seung-hwan and Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Yoon Tae-ho | Graphics by Im Chan-hyuk
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.