Head of North Gyeongsang Province election-supply firm and spouse each run separate companies under investigation
Former NEC party affairs chief's firm also draws 'family company' scrutiny
The special prosecutor's team investigating the National Election Commission — including a ballot shortage that emerged during the June 3 local elections and various misconduct allegations against the NEC and its regional offices — has recently questioned a series of election-supply company heads on bid-rigging charges, it has been confirmed. The team also extended a travel ban on at least one company head as it examines potential illegality in the contracting process and whether NEC officials were complicit.
The special prosecutor's team recently extended a travel ban on B, the head of Company A, an election-supply manufacturer and distributor based in North Gyeongsang Province facing bid-rigging charges. B had been placed under a travel ban during the earlier joint investigation headquarters of prosecutors and police, and the restriction has since been renewed multiple times. The team questioned B before the chuseok holiday last month and again on Friday.
The special prosecutor's team is also looking into how Company A and Company C — a separate North Gyeongsang Province firm whose head is B's spouse and in which B is listed as an inside director — came to secure contracts with the NEC. During the suspect questioning of B, investigators examined whether the NEC had granted preferential treatment or acted illegally in contracting with Companies A and C. B, however, maintains there was no illegality.
Company C is also notable because E, the head of Company D and a former party affairs chief at the NEC, was listed as an inside director there from 2021 to 2024. Company D likewise held contracts with the NEC, and it has been confirmed that contracts were also secured through yet another company headed by E's spouse. In effect, both B and E entered into NEC contracts not only through their own firms but also through family-run companies.
In addition to E, a former senior NEC official served as an executive at Company D. People Power Party lawmaker Ju Jin-woo said in July that Company D, the company run by E's spouse, and Company C together signed a total of 103 contracts worth 17.5 billion won ($13.2 million) with the NEC, of which 90 were negotiated contracts awarded without competitive bidding, and alleged the existence of a vested-interest cartel.
The special prosecutor's team is believed to suspect collusion among B, E and NEC officials. Against that backdrop, the team also questioned E as a suspect on Sunday. E had previously been questioned as a suspect on Sept. 20, Sept. 30 and Oct. 4. Through those sessions, investigators examined whether the NEC acted illegally in its contracting with election-supply firms.
E, however, has taken the opposite stance, filing criminal complaints against the NEC's election infrastructure section chief and a contracting official on charges of occupational breach of trust and coercion, alleging that the NEC caused harm to E during the bidding process. E's position is that of a victim, not a co-conspirator.
E claims to have been selected as the top-ranked qualified bidder for an NEC tender in December last year to manufacture early-voting boxes — including stands — but that the NEC deliberately split off the locking mechanism as a separate procurement, causing financial loss to the state. The Gwacheon Police Station in Gyeonggi Province, which received the complaint, recently questioned E as the complainant. The special prosecutor's team is currently in discussions with police over whether to take over the case.
"We are conducting the investigation with all possibilities open regarding the bid rigging," a special prosecutor's office official said, adding that the possibility of receiving the case filed by E from police "also remains open."
Meanwhile, a Grade 5 NEC civil servant who had been questioned by the special prosecutor's team was found dead on Wednesday. After the news broke, the NEC said it "deeply regrets" that an employee "who had been questioned until late at night has passed away," adding that "the loss of a precious life under extreme psychological strain from continued investigation is a matter of great sorrow." The special prosecutor's team rebuffed the characterization, saying "no late-night questioning took place" and that "there was no coercive atmosphere whatsoever, and no objections were raised."
Separately, also on Wednesday, the special prosecutor's team executed a search-and-seizure warrant at the residence of former NEC Chairman Noh Tae-ak on charges of occupational embezzlement and the preparation and use of false official documents, in connection with allegations that overseas trips were taken for leisure rather than official purposes. The joint investigation headquarters had previously sought a warrant to search Noh's residence, but a court rejected it. The special prosecutor's team subsequently obtained and executed a new warrant after uncovering additional evidence that overseas travel reports had been falsified.
If you're thinking about self-harm or suicide, dial the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 109, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Please request a translator for English-language services.
bell@heraldcorp.com
