The direct responsibility for the ballot shortage at the June 3 local elections is being directed at field workers at the Songpa-gu Election Commission, and a joint investigation team of prosecutors and police announced the opening of judicial proceedings today (the 28th) by directly indicting two relevant employees on charges of dereliction of duty and summoning them for questioning as suspects. This marks the first case of 'direct indictment' since the launch of the joint investigation team, with investigators focusing their attention on allegations that the election commission neglected the foreseen ballot shortage situation and disregarded requests from field workers.
The Joint Investigation Team of Prosecutors and Police (headed by Kim Tae-hoon, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, 3rd Division) indicted Mr. A, the election officer at the Songpa-gu Election Commission, and Mr. B, the chief of the election section 1, on charges of dereliction of duty today and will summon them for questioning as suspects. They are suspected of failing to take appropriate measures despite the anticipation of ballot shortages at certain polling places during the June 3 local elections, and ignoring additional requests from field polling places. This indictment is noteworthy in that it marks the first case where the joint investigation team has directly identified suspicions in the investigative process and indicted individuals as suspects, rather than indicting those who were reported.
Separately, the joint investigation team has also detected irregularities where a single ballot serial number was duplicated on two ballots at a polling place under the Songpa-gu Election Commission and is expanding the investigation. This raises serious questions about the credibility of the ballots themselves, going beyond simple ballot shortages.
The joint investigation team has been conducting comprehensive investigations surrounding the June 3 local elections since July 23, including searches and seizures at the National Election Commission (Gwacheon) and election commissions in Songpa-gu, Gangnam-gu, and Seocho-gu. In particular, regarding the 'statistics manipulation incident' where field workers are suspected of arbitrarily modifying statistical figures in the election management system to conceal the misentry of voter numbers, the team resumed server searches on the previous day (the 27th) and continues to conduct investigations. Such extensive searches and seizures suggest the possibility of election data manipulation and amplify suspicions regarding the transparency and credibility of the election commission's administration. Previously, reference questioning of key figures including former Election Commission Chairman Roh Tae-ak has also been conducted, and investigations into various allegations surrounding the election commission are ongoing.