[Anchor]

The joint investigation team of prosecutors and police, which is probing the ballot paper shortage incident, has conducted raids on 12 officials from the Seoul and Songpa-gu National Election Commission (NEC) and seized their mobile phones. Meanwhile, police have summoned a woman in her 30s who blocked athletic association staff from entering their offices at the Jamsil vote counting center.

Reporter Jeon Yeon-nam has the story.

[Reporter]

The joint investigation team looking into the ballot paper shortage has launched a compulsory investigation into officials from the National Election Commission.

The joint team announced that it conducted raids on a total of 12 individuals, including three officials from the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission and nine from the Songpa-gu Election Commission.

This comes 13 days after the team raided the National Election Commission and the Seoul Election Commission on June 11 to secure internal approval documents, including voting records.

The targets of the raids were working-level NEC staff responsible for managing voting in Seoul, including those at the Jamsil 7-dong polling station who were in contact with poll workers on election day. All are currently considered witnesses.

The joint team seized the mobile phones and other items from the 12 individuals at the NEC offices.

Once the analysis of the seized materials is complete, the joint team plans to summon them one by one to determine how they became aware of the ballot shortage, how it was reported within the NEC, and what instructions were given.

The joint team is also analyzing materials and findings submitted by the National Election Commission's "Fact-Finding Committee on the Ballot Paper Shortage."

Police investigations are also continuing regarding the "vote counting center blockade protest" that took place at the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium.

Police have identified a woman in her 30s who, while draped in a U.S. flag, blocked staff from the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee from entering their offices inside the gymnasium for approximately two hours on June 16, and have issued a summons for her.

[(Are you okay? What were you thinking when you were blocking the entrance?) …….]

Police are working to identify not only this woman but also others who obstructed the athletic association staff from entering their offices, and are investigating them on charges of obstruction of business.

(Video Editing: Kim Yoon-sung)