NEC Special Counsel Extends Departure Ban on Former NEC Chair Rho Tae-ak

[Financial News] The NEC special counsel team, led by Special Counsel Lee Tae-han, has extended the departure ban imposed on Rho Tae-ak, former chair of the National Election Commission, as it investigates allegations of lax management and misconduct by the NEC during the June 3 local elections.
According to legal sources on the 28th, the special counsel team has placed Rho under a departure ban. It extended the ban imposed in June by the prosecutors-and-police Joint Investigation Headquarters before the special counsel was launched, a measure seen as preparation for a full-scale investigation.
The special counsel is examining whether Rho and NEC leadership bear responsibility for ballot shortages in Songpa and Gangnam districts in Seoul and elsewhere during the June 3 local elections. Investigators are checking whether the leadership knew that ballot shortages were possible but failed to take the necessary measures.
The special counsel also launched its first coercive investigation on the 17th by conducting search and seizure operations at 10 locations, including the NEC. In particular, it is reportedly examining why the NEC changed its guidelines before the local elections to lower the standard for the number of ballots printed from 60% to 50% of the total electorate.
Separately from the election-management issues, Rho is also facing allegations of so-called junket trips after accompanying his spouse on overseas business trips to Australia, New Zealand and other countries since 2022.
The special counsel is also speeding up its analysis of seized materials. On the 22nd, it appointed Sangjin Lee, a professor at Korea University (KU) Graduate School of Information Security, and other digital forensics experts as investigative advisory committee members to provide advice on forensic analysis.
 
[email protected] Choi Eun-sol Reporter