Lee Tae-han, a non-standing member of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission appointed as special prosecutor to investigate the National Election Commission, answers reporters' questions at law firm Dongin in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]
Lee Tae-han, a non-standing member of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission appointed as special prosecutor to investigate the National Election Commission, answers reporters' questions at law firm Dongin in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]

Lee Tae-han, an attorney at law firm Dongin, has been appointed as special prosecutor to investigate allegations of voter rights violations stemming from the June 3 local elections, including a ballot shortage that disrupted voting. The appointment is expected to prompt the joint investigation team of prosecutors and police to begin transferring cases to the special prosecutor's office.

According to legal sources Wednesday, the joint investigative team — formed to uncover the truth behind the alleged violations of citizens' voting rights — has largely completed its suspect interviews of local election commission officials in connection with the ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections. The team plans to hand over relevant materials to the special prosecutor's office once it is formally launched, following President Lee Jae Myung's appointment of the special prosecutor on Tuesday.

Lee passed the bar examination in 1991 and was commissioned as a prosecutor at the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office in 1994. He subsequently served as chief of the trial division at the Busan District Prosecutors' Office, head of the special investigations division at the Ulsan District Prosecutors' Office, and chief of the criminal fourth division at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office. He joined law firm Dongin after entering private practice in 2013 and has served as a non-standing member of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission since May 2025.

Under the special prosecutor act governing the appointment, the special prosecutor's team has up to 20 days from the date of appointment to secure the facilities needed for the investigation and complete other preparatory steps, including requesting the appointment of deputy special prosecutors.

The team may receive up to 20 seconded prosecutors and, separately, up to 70 civil servants seconded from the Korean National Police Agency and other relevant agencies. The special prosecutor's office is expected to complete preparations — including securing office space and staffing — by early next month before launching its full investigation.

Under the special prosecutor act, the team's mandate covers 12 areas of inquiry: the ballot shortage during the 9th nationwide local elections, allegations that vote counting was pushed through improperly, underreporting of voter turnout, manipulation of voter turnout figures, destruction and loss of election materials, allegations of overseas junkets disguised as official travel, preferential promotions and improper hiring involving officials' children, and other cases arising from complaints, accusations and independent discoveries.

The joint investigative team, launched following the ballot shortage in June, has focused not only on that incident but also on allegations that former National Election Commission Chairman Noh Tae-ak took overseas trips with his spouse at public expense, suspected manipulation of voter turnout figures, and, more recently, alleged bid-rigging in the procurement of early voting ballot boxes.

Beyond the officials already reported for their role in the ballot shortage, investigators have identified new suspects on charges of dereliction of duty uncovered during the probe and have been questioning key operational staff to determine the cause of the crisis. The process by which the minimum print-run threshold for ballots was reduced has also come under scrutiny. The special prosecutor's team is expected to focus closely on the decision-making behind the 50 percent reduction in the ballot print order.

Several National Election Commission officials have been booked on charges of falsifying public electronic records and obstructing the execution of official duties in connection with the alleged manipulation of voter turnout figures. Evidence has emerged that turnout data was entered incorrectly in Seocho-gu and Gangnam in Seoul, Gimpo and Uiwang in Gyeonggi Province, and Jincheon in North Chungcheong Province. The special prosecutor's team is expected to pay close attention to a directive the National Election Commission issued to provincial and metropolitan election commissions on election day, which said that if voter count discrepancies were not large, the figures could be adjusted in the next report.

On the allegations surrounding former Chairman Noh's overseas trips, the joint investigative team has continued interviewing witnesses and has established a basic factual record. Noh is suspected of taking trips accompanied by his spouse — to Australia and New Zealand in December 2022, to Germany and Estonia in November 2024, and to Denmark and Sweden in November last year — that were ostensibly official but amounted to leisure travel. Investigators have recently secured testimony that Noh personally decided on the destinations for those overseas trips.

The special prosecutor's team is also expected to launch a full investigation into the alleged bid-rigging in the early voting ballot box procurement. The joint investigative team raided the National Election Commission and other offices on Friday to look into suspected irregularities in the commission's tender for the manufacture of early voting ballot boxes, as well as in election supply service contracts issued separately by the election commissions of South Gyeongsang Province, North Gyeongsang Province and Busan. As the team is still in the evidence-gathering phase, it is expected to analyze the seized materials before moving to formal interviews of those involved.

Separately, the special prosecutor may also open independent inquiries into suspected misconduct at the National Election Commission beyond what the joint team has already uncovered. In the latter stages of the investigation, the special prosecutor is expected to summon and question former Chairman Noh, former NEC Secretary General Heo Cheol-hun, and the heads of provincial and metropolitan election commissions — all considered to be at the top of the chain of command for the various allegations.

"The special prosecutor will answer the questions the public has," Lee said Tuesday. "We will explain the results of the investigation as thoroughly and transparently as possible within permissible bounds, so that the public can accept them." He added: "We will not be swayed by any outside influence or political consideration, and will uncover the truth based solely on the law and principle."


bell@heraldcorp.com