Special Prosecutor Lee Tae-hwan's Team Raids National Election Commission and Four Other Sites

The special prosecution team led by Lee Tae-hwan, the special prosecutor investigating the National Election Commission, raided the National Election Commission (NEC) and four other locations, including election supply vendors, on the morning of the 14th on suspicion of breach of trust and obstruction of bidding, among other charges. The special prosecution team said it had found indications that the NEC colluded with a specific company in the production of early voting station supply kits worth a total of 5 billion won for the 21st presidential election and the 9th nationwide local elections. The team said it executed warrants starting at 8 a.m. at the companies involved and at 9 a.m. at the NEC, targeting five sites including election supply vendors in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, and Daegu.

A total of 31 personnel were deployed to the scene that day, including six forensic investigators from the special prosecution and three forensic investigators from the National Police Agency.

Last month, the special prosecution team questioned a former NEC official surnamed Han, formerly head of the commission's political parties department, as a suspect on obstruction-of-bidding charges. Han is known to have ultimately won a contract worth around 1.3 billion won as CEO of a company that produced early voting ballot boxes for the June 3 local elections.

The special prosecution team plans to analyze the evidence secured through the raids to examine allegations of the NEC's overall lax management, including favoritism in sole-source contracts and collusion with vendors, and to determine who is responsible. As the compulsory investigation into the NEC, a constitutional body, gains momentum, calls are expected to grow for greater transparency across the entire election administration.