Joint Investigation Headquarters Searches NEC Server for Second Day Over Alleged Voter Turnout Manipulation; Suspects and Witnesses Questioned

[Financial News] The Joint Investigation Headquarters, led by Kim Tae-hoon, the third deputy chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, searched the National Election Commission (NEC) for a second straight day as it investigates allegations that voter turnout was manipulated on election day for the June 3 local elections.
Questioning of suspects and witnesses is also under way in connection with the ballot shortage and allegations that NEC officials took unnecessary overseas trips.
According to legal sources on the 24th, the Joint Investigation Headquarters is conducting a search of the NEC's server this morning. The move follows searches of the NEC and the Gyeonggi Province Election Commission the previous day.
The team also searched NEC and Gyeonggi Province Election Commission staff members suspected of being involved in the manipulation of statistics on charges including falsification of public electronic records and obstruction of official duties.
Investigators believe that an input error occurred during the vote count at a polling station in Gyeonggi Province, but that it was neither reported immediately to the NEC nor corrected. The tally reportedly remained unchanged for about four hours after several hundred votes were mistakenly entered as several thousand.
They are also examining whether Gyeonggi Province Election Commission staff engaged in so-called "number matching" by distributing the inflated voter totals across other polling stations. Investigators are looking into whether such steps were taken on the assumption that the discrepancy would naturally narrow as actual voters continued to arrive until the 6 p.m. close of voting.
Once the analysis of the seized materials is complete, the Joint Investigation Headquarters plans to summon those involved and reconstruct what happened at the time.
In connection with the ballot shortage, the head of the Dongjak District Election Commission's administrative office will be questioned as a suspect, while two officials from the NEC's Election Division 1 will be questioned as witnesses.
Three officials from the NEC's election management and organizational administration divisions will also appear in relation to allegations that former NEC Chairman Rho Tae-ak and others took unnecessary overseas trips.

[email protected] Choi Eun-sol Reporter