A joint investigative task force of prosecutors and police probing violations of citizens' voting rights during the June 3 local elections raided the National Election Commission on Monday, formally launching an investigation into allegations that former NEC Chairman No Tae-ak and commission staff took overseas trips disguised as official business.
The task force, led by Kim Tae-hun, dispatched investigators to the NEC headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, that morning and executed a search and seizure warrant in connection with a complaint alleging embezzlement related to No's overseas trips accompanied by his spouse and staff members' alleged junket travel abroad, seizing relevant documents.
Earlier, the People Power Party's special media committee and media legal team filed a complaint on June 17, alleging that some NEC civil servants had traveled to observe the Maldives presidential election in September 2023 and charged all expenses — including airfare, accommodation and meals — to the NEC budget without any verifiable operational necessity.
The complaint cited four overseas trips totaling 86.8 million won in embezzlement charges: a Maldives trip (14.7 million won, or about $9,900), trips to Bangkok and Kota Kinabalu (19.2 million won), a trip to Florence and Venice (30 million won), and a Florence trip last year (22.9 million won). The complaint also separately alleged that No took his spouse on official trips to Denmark and Sweden, and to Germany and Estonia.
The task force summoned People Power Party attorney Choi Ji-woo as a complainant for questioning on July 2. It has also received seconded prosecutors, including senior prosecutor Lim Hong-seok, and is investigating allegations related to NEC personnel and budget management. The task force took over from the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office a case involving allegations that the NEC submitted a falsified budget request to the Ministry of Economy and Finance that omitted hiring irregularities and items flagged by the Board of Audit and Inspection.
The task force has also been focusing its investigative resources on establishing the facts behind the ballot shortage, including why the minimum print threshold for ballots was reduced from 60 percent to 50 percent. Acting NEC Chairman Wi Cheol-hwan said in a public apology last month that the ratio was lowered based on a 2022 policy research commission given to the Korea Institute of Public Administration and the findings of a procedural improvement TF.
The Korea Institute of Public Administration report stated that it was necessary to reduce the number of ballots printed for use on election day, taking into account voter turnout and early voting rates by election type. The task force has previously questioned institute officials, the TF team leader and the lead researcher on the commissioned report as reference witnesses.
The task force obtained a statement from a TF official saying they had no knowledge that ballots had run short during the 21st presidential election. Investigators are treating this as circumstantial evidence of negligent management at the NEC.
The task force also summoned one official from the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission for questioning as a reference witness on Monday.
bell@heraldcorp.com
