The National Election Commission's Gwacheon headquarters. [Yonhap]
The National Election Commission's Gwacheon headquarters. [Yonhap]

Police investigating a ballot shortage that disrupted voting during the June 3 local elections launched simultaneous search and seizure operations Thursday at the National Election Commission and the Seoul Election Commission, among other locations.

Investigators from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's wide-area investigation unit began executing warrants at 9 a.m. at the NEC's headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, the Seoul Election Commission in Jongno-gu, and district election commission offices in Songpa, Seocho, Gangnam, Gwangjin and Dongjak-gu. The warrants cite suspected violations of the Public Official Election Management Act and dereliction of duty.

The forced investigation comes eight days after ballot shortages on the afternoon of election day left some voters unable to cast their ballots.

About 100 personnel — including investigators from the wide-area unit, the Korean National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters and digital forensics specialists from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency — were divided into teams to execute the warrants. Three prosecutors and roughly 10 additional investigators from a joint prosecution-police task force formed to uncover the truth behind the shortage also took part.

"We are focused on securing evidence to uncover the substantive truth of the case, including identifying the cause of the infringement on citizens' right to vote," police said.


nyang@heraldcorp.com