Charges include falsification and use of forged official documents

Special Prosecutor Lee Tae-han (center) arrives at the handball arena in Seoul Olympic Park on Oct. 28 to oversee a public verification of ballots from the June 3 local elections and checks the entrance. [Yonhap]
Special Prosecutor Lee Tae-han (center) arrives at the handball arena in Seoul Olympic Park on Oct. 28 to oversee a public verification of ballots from the June 3 local elections and checks the entrance. [Yonhap]

The special prosecutor investigating allegations of misconduct at the National Election Commission — including a ballot shortage that emerged during the June 3 local elections — launched a forced investigation Thursday into suspicions that the commission had conducted a shoddy internal security inspection of its own facilities.

The special prosecutor's team said it dispatched 25 personnel — including two prosecutors and six forensic investigators — to execute search and seizure warrants at around 9:10 a.m. Thursday at the commission's server rooms and information security divisions at its headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, as well as at two contracted management firms, on charges of falsifying and using forged official documents.

The team said it had been analyzing materials related to suspicions that the commission carried out a cursory internal security inspection of its information security facilities. Investigators said they had found indications that the commission falsified documents related to the security inspection to make it appear as though a proper check for vulnerabilities had been conducted.

"Concealing the true state of information security facilities is a grave matter that could undermine public trust in the integrity of election administration," a special prosecutor's office official said. "We will thoroughly investigate not only the circumstances but also those behind it, so that no related allegations remain unresolved."


bell@heraldcorp.com