Five Assistant Special Prosecutors Appointed for Election Commission Probe, Investigation Preparations Accelerate

Park Hyuk, Kim Eunjeong, Kim Sangcheon, and Other Attorneys Join the Team

"We Will Conduct the Investigation Without Preconceptions or Prejudgments"

Lee Taehan, the special prosecutor investigating allegations surrounding the shortage of ballots in the June 3 local elections, has appointed five assistant special prosecutors and is accelerating preparations for the investigation.

On September 1, the special prosecutor's team announced in a notice to the media, "The president has appointed five assistant special prosecutors, effective September 2." The new assistant special prosecutors are: Park Hyuk (22nd class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute), Kim Eunjeong (38th class), Kim Sangcheon (first bar examination), Kwon Geunho (second bar examination), and Kim Jinwoo (third bar examination), all of whom are attorneys. Of these, four have served in the prosecution service as public officials.

Investigation into the shortage of ballots during the June 3 local elections by Special Prosecutor Lee Taehan of the National Election Commission Photo by Yonhap News

Assistant Special Prosecutor Park graduated from Hanyang University and previously worked as a prosecutor at the Seoul District Prosecutors' Office and the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office. During his tenure at the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office, he was seconded to the Ministry of Science and ICT. Assistant Special Prosecutor Kim Eunjeong graduated from Korea University and served as a senior prosecutor at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and as a prosecutor at the Busan District Prosecutors' Office.

Assistant Special Prosecutor Kim Sangcheon graduated from Yonsei University and Kangwon National University Law School. He worked as a researcher at the National Institute for Security Technology, then served as a prosecutor and as a prosecutor at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials. Assistant Special Prosecutor Kwon Geunho graduated from Sogang University and Seoul National University Law School. He subsequently served as inspector at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and judge at the Jeonju District Court.

Assistant Special Prosecutor Kim Jinwoo graduated from Yonsei University and Hanyang University Law School. He has held roles including ethics director at the Korean Bar Association, legal advisor at the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, and was a member of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Prosecution Investigation Deliberation committee.

On August 28, Special Prosecutor Lee selected ten candidates and requested President Lee Jaemyung to appoint assistant special prosecutors. According to the Special Prosecutor Act, the president was required to appoint five assistant prosecutors from among the candidates within five days of receiving the request.

Now that the appointment of assistant special prosecutors is complete, the special prosecutor's team plans to quickly finalize the organization of the investigation unit and assign work by area based on each assistant's expertise and experience. The team stated, "We will conduct the investigation based on objective information and evidence, without any preconceptions or prejudgments, in accordance with the legally prescribed scope and targets of this investigation."

The special prosecutor's team further emphasized, "Given that this case concerns critical constitutional values such as election fairness and the people’s political rights, we will prioritize procedural due process and the fairness of the investigation, as well as promptness." The team also stated, "We will thoroughly and calmly verify all necessary matters to ascertain the substantive truth, without being influenced by unverified allegations or unilateral claims."

Previously, the special prosecutor's team asked the joint investigation headquarters of the prosecution and police to hand over all existing investigation records and seized items, and on August 31, received the digitized case records and began reviewing them. The team plans to officially begin work and launch a full-scale investigation starting September 7.

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