Election Commission special prosecutor searches and seizes election records and CCTV footage ahead of tomorrow’s on-site inspection at Olympic Park

[Financial News] The special prosecutor team led by Lee Tae-han, which is investigating the ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections, launched a search and seizure operation to secure election-related documents and closed-circuit television (CCTV) recordings ahead of an on-site inspection at Olympic Park on the 28th.
The special prosecutor team said in a notice to the media on the 27th that it had deployed a total of 12 people, including two prosecutors and forensic investigators, and had been executing a search and seizure warrant for various documents related to elections in Songpa-gu and CCTV footage stored at the Olympic Park Handball Stadium since around 8:30 a.m. that day.
The search and seizure is intended to secure documents created during the voting and ballot-counting process in Songpa-gu during the June 3 local elections and clarify allegations surrounding the ballot shortage. Ahead of the on-site inspection scheduled for the following day, the team also plans to obtain CCTV recordings from the storage locations of the items to be examined.
Earlier, the special prosecutor team announced that on the 28th it would conduct a voluntary inspection of approximately 2.47 million ballots from Songpa-gu stored at Olympic Park, along with related items including on-site CCTV, with the cooperation of the police, the Central Election Commission and other relevant agencies.
The team plans first to check the integrity of the ballots, including whether their number has increased or decreased and whether any are counterfeit. It will also analyze CCTV recordings from the storage locations to look for signs of unauthorized entry.
After an initial check of the number of ballots and their marking and printing condition, any ballots on which irregularities are found will be sorted separately for a second, detailed forensic examination. The team will also check for possible hacking and malfunctions involving election equipment such as ballot-sorting machines.
However, this examination is being conducted as part of the special prosecutor’s investigation and is separate from a recount under election dispute proceedings pursuant to the Public Official Election Act. Accordingly, it will not affect the determination of winners or vote totals in the June 3 local elections.
 



[email protected] Choi Eun-sol Reporter