Special Prosecutor Bill on Election Commission Passed by National Assembly... Alleged Digital Manipulation Included in Scope

The special prosecutor law regarding the “ballot paper shortage incident” that occurred during the 9th nationwide local elections was passed at the National Assembly plenary session on July 30, 2026. In addition to the ballot paper shortage, this special law also includes as subjects of investigation recent allegations of manipulation in the counting of voter turnout and other issues relating to the election network system.

On July 30, the National Assembly convened a plenary session and passed the “Special Act on the Appointment of a Special Prosecutor to Investigate Alleged Infringement of Citizens’ Suffrage in the 9th Nationwide Local Election Ballot Shortage Incident, etc.” (Special Prosecutor Act), with 228 members in attendance: 226 in favor, 2 against.

On the 17th, the 13th day of the 'vote counting site blockade protest', protesters waved the American and Korean flags at the entrance of the Handball Gymnasium in Olympic Park, Songpa-gu, Seoul. 2026.06.17 Photo by Dongju Yoon

Candidates for special prosecutor are to be recommended by the chairpersons of the Korean Bar Association and the Korean Association of Law Schools, who each recommend three candidates with more than 15 years of legal experience. The National Recommendation Committee, which is composed of equal members from both ruling and opposition parties, will narrow the pool to two candidates through consensus, and the President will appoint one of them as the special prosecutor.

The special prosecutor is permitted to make necessary preparations for up to 20 days from the date of appointment, and must complete the investigation within 90 days from the day after the preparation period ends. If needed, an additional 30-day extension may be granted after reporting to the President and the National Assembly. If this is still insufficient, an additional 30-day extension may be granted with Presidential approval.

If necessary, the special prosecutor may request up to 20 dispatched prosecutors and up to 70 dispatched public officials (excluding prosecutors) from heads of relevant agencies. The President shall appoint five assistant special prosecutors as recommended by the special prosecutor, and the special prosecutor may also appoint up to 70 special investigators.

The scope of the investigation includes allegations that citizens’ suffrage was infringed upon due to the ballot paper shortage; suspicions of illegality in decision-making, such as the National Election Commission and others reducing the minimum ballot printing quantity without official resolutions; and allegations of manipulation of election statistics, including manipulation of voter turnout data in the June 3 local election.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.