A special counsel team led by Lee Tae-han opened its office on the 7th and began a full investigation into the ballot paper shortages that marred South Korea's June 3 local elections. The team said it will not treat the findings of the earlier joint prosecution-police task force as a starting premise, but will instead reexamine the case from the ground up based on objective evidence.
Speaking at a plaque-unveiling ceremony at The Base Seocho building in Seoul's Seocho district, Lee said the probe aims "to protect the constitutional right of citizens to participate in politics and to restore fairness and trust in elections." He added, "We will investigate swiftly and thoroughly with a heavy sense of responsibility."
"We will not be swayed by unverified allegations or political controversy," Lee said. "We will establish the facts through objective evidence and explain the results transparently to the public."
The team is pursuing an on-site inspection of the Olympic Park ballot counting center, the episode that prompted the special counsel's appointment. A parliamentary investigation committee had earlier sought such an inspection, but was unable to examine areas including the site where ballot boxes were stored — a gap the special counsel now intends to close.
"The scene at the Olympic Park counting center effectively triggered this appointment," Lee said. "There appear to be items requiring verification, including voter rolls and various vote-counting documents kept at the site." He added that the team is "identifying the scope and targets of an on-site inspection, within permitted limits and in accordance with procedure, for the portions that could not be inspected, and will carry it out if necessary."
On the 3rd, the team received the full case file from the joint prosecution-police task force that had investigated the ballot shortages. Rather than adopting the task force's fact-finding and conclusions as they stand, however, the special counsel plans to revisit the underlying facts on its own judgment.
"I cannot discuss specifically what was handed over, but it is no more than baseline material," Lee said. "The special counsel will analyze it and start fresh with a new posture. We will not investigate on the premise of the task force's findings, but will formally begin anew based on the special counsel's own judgment."
Digital forensics will serve as a central tool in the investigation. Because the inquiry targets the National Election Commission, a state institution, the team judged that it must secure procedural legitimacy in gathering evidence while closely analyzing electronic records.
"An investigation of a state institution such as the election commission has to be meticulous and procedurally legitimate, so we formed our own forensics team," Lee said. "We assembled in-house analysts at the outset, and if the need arises we will bring in personnel from the National Forensic Service as well. We will do our utmost."
Fifteen prosecutors are currently seconded to the special counsel, and the team is in talks with the Ministry of Justice to add five more. Lee said the launch of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency is set for Oct. 2, and that securing seconded prosecution investigators before then has proved difficult. "Because of the reorganization and removal of investigative powers, there are complications in seconding staff to the special counsel, so we took on only the minimum necessary," he said. He added that the team "plans to visit the agency after Oct. 2 to request additional investigators."
The special counsel's investigation covers 12 matters in total, including the local election ballot paper shortages and allegations of manipulated voting statistics, as well as junket-style overseas trips by election commission officials, favoritism in hiring and promotions, preferential private contracts, and collusion with vendors.
