Special Prosecutor Team Raids NEC Chairperson's Office, Others Over 'Improper 900 Million Won Payment' of Fair Election Activity Funds

Searches at 18 offices, including the chairperson's and secretary-general's
Budget allocated despite warnings from the audit board and National Assembly
905.8 million won paid in Fair Election Promotion Activity Funds
Probe into top officials' involvement and possible collusion

On Nov. 2, the special prosecutor team led by Lee Taehan launched searches and seizures at 18 departments, including the chairperson's office and the secretary-general's office at the National Election Commission (NEC), in connection with allegations that the NEC improperly paid funds for activities promoting fair elections.

Lee Taehan, Special Prosecutor, Enters Site of Public Ballot Verification

Lee Taehan, the special prosecutor investigating the National Election Commission, enters the Handball Stadium at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Oct. 28, where public verification of ballots from the June 3 local elections is being held. (2026.10.28 Photo by Joint Press Corps)

The NEC special prosecutor team said, "At around 9 a.m. today, we began searching and seizing materials at 18 departments, including the NEC chairperson's office and the secretary-general's office, on suspicion of causing losses to the state treasury under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes, obstructing the exercise of rights through abuse of authority, and preparing false official documents." A total of 65 people were deployed, including four prosecutors assigned to the team and 25 digital forensic investigators.

The team found that the NEC had continued to pay monthly funds for activities promoting fair elections to its non-standing commissioners, including the chairperson, despite being told by the Board of Audit and Inspection and the National Assembly that there was no basis for the payments. It also found that the NEC had secured budget allocations for 2019-2022 after marking "not applicable" in the "matters pointed out by external organizations" section of its budget documents.

The team believes that, although no related budget was allocated in 2024 and the entire amount was cut in 2025, the NEC diverted funds allocated for other purposes to pay the activity expenses.

The team estimates that approximately 905.8 million won was paid in total from 2020 through 2025. The payments were suspended in 2023. The team said that the amount paid in each year exceeded the 100 million won threshold for the crime of causing losses to the state treasury under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes.

The team is also searching the residence of the former NEC secretary-general, who is suspected of issuing illegal and improper instructions in 2024 and 2025 to pay activity expenses to non-standing commissioners.

Through analysis of the seized materials, the team plans to establish how the budgets were allocated and spent, as well as the chain of instructions and reporting. It also plans to determine why the payments resumed after being suspended for several years, whether senior officials conspired, and the extent of their responsibility.

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