Search Warrant in 'Election Commission Activity Expense' Probe Rejected; Special Counsel Weighs Reapplying

Court: "Basic facts established; concerns over disruption to operations"
Special prosecutor pushes back: "We sufficiently substantiated the allegations"

The special prosecutor team investigating allegations that the National Election Commission improperly paid “activity expenses for promoting fair elections” is considering reapplying for search and seizure warrants after a court rejected its request.

Special Prosecutor Lee Taehan of the National Election Commission, who is investigating incidents including a shortage of ballots during the June 3 local elections. Yonhap News Agency

The special prosecutor team for the National Election Commission said in a media notice on October 14 that a warrant it sought on October 12 to search the National Election Commission and other locations was rejected at around 2 p.m. that day. The team added that the court cited reasons including “the basic facts have been established, and the suspects appear to differ in their legal assessment” and “there appears to be a substantial possibility that the search would significantly disrupt the National Election Commission’s normal operations.”

The team is investigating allegations that, for about 12 years starting in 2014, the National Election Commission improperly paid monthly activity expenses for promoting fair elections of 2.9 million won to its chair and 2.15 million won to each non-executive member. The investigation concerns monthly fixed payments made separately from meeting attendance allowances and agenda review allowances. The warrant request was reportedly intended to secure evidence needed to clarify allegations concerning activity expenses paid to current and former senior judges, including Supreme Court justices.

The team pushed back against the court’s decision, saying it had sufficiently substantiated the suspected crimes and the need for the searches based on its investigation to date and materials from the Board of Audit and Inspection. “This warrant denial is among recent cases in which courts have rejected some search and seizure warrants for reasons that are difficult to understand,” the team said. “We will continue the investigation without wavering, including by reapplying for the search and seizure warrants.”

Meanwhile, the team searched five locations that morning, including the National Election Commission and election supply companies in Gimpo and Daegu, on suspicion of occupational breach of trust and bid-rigging, among other offenses. The searches were part of an investigation into allegations that the National Election Commission colluded with a particular company in a contract to produce supply kits for early voting stations and polling places for the 21st presidential election and the 9th local elections. The project was worth a total of approximately 5 billion won.

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