The special counsel team led by Special Prosecutor Lee Tae-han, which is investigating the ballot shortage in the June 3 local elections, is conducting a public verification of ballots today (October 28) at the Handball Gymnasium in Olympic Park, Seoul.

This marks the opening of ballot boxes to examine actual ballots one by one, 147 days after the local elections on June 3.

The special counsel team plans to inspect approximately 2.47 million ballots from Songpa-gu and review on-site closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage at the handball gymnasium.

Through this process, investigators will check for any changes in the number of ballots, possible forgery, and any equipment malfunctions.

The CCTV footage will be examined to check for any unauthorized outside intrusion.

The team plans to first verify the quantity, marking, and printing status of the ballots, segregate any abnormal ballots discovered in the process, and then conduct a secondary appraisal.

Given high public interest and the goal of addressing related suspicions, this verification procedure is being conducted openly in the presence of an observer delegation, National Assembly members, and journalists.

Around 100 attendees, including an observer delegation selected by the National Assembly and lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties, are attending, while about 50 journalists are present to cover the event.

The special counsel team is deploying all of its more than 110 available personnel, including prosecutors and assistant special prosecutors, to oversee the public verification.

With personnel and equipment support provided by the National Forensic Service, approximately 500 staff members from the National Election Commission are also being mobilized.

However, the election commission staff will only assist with the task of checking ballot counts.

Police are also deploying 48 riot police companies to Olympic Park on this day to manage the site.

Given that a single company consists of about 60 officers, a large-scale police force totaling some 3,330 officers is effectively being deployed to the scene.

The public verification of the Olympic Park ballots has been a key planned procedure since before the special counsel team was formally launched.

Yesterday, the special counsel team searched and seized the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium, securing various Songpa-gu election-related documents and CCTV footage stored inside.

The team's verification plan was initially referred to as a "recount," but a recount is a legal procedure to re-examine ballots when election results are challenged, which differs in nature from this evidence verification.

The special counsel team explained that because this verification is part of an investigative activity and not a recount based on election litigation under the Public Official Election Act, it will have no impact on the local election outcomes or vote counts.

(Photo: Yonhap News)