special counsel-election watchdog

SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- A special counsel team said Monday it raided the National Election Commission (NEC) over allegations its commissioners were paid 905.8 million won (US$677,000) in improper stipends.

Special counsel Lee Tae-han's team said a 65-member team, including four prosecutors, were sent to the NEC headquarters in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, to search the offices of the NEC chair and secretary general.

The election watchdog is suspected of having unlawfully paid monthly stipends to its nine commissioners in the name of assisting "free and fair elections."

The allowances were given even after the Board of Audit and Inspection and the National Assembly pointed out the absence of grounds for their payment, including by diverting funds allocated for other purposes, according to the special counsel team.

In total, the stipends amounted to 905.8 million won, starting at 171.5 million won in 2020. The annual total exceeded the threshold of 100 million won per year set under a law for punishing acts causing losses to the state treasury.

Lee's team was launched in September to investigate ballot shortages on the day of the June 3 local elections and other suspected irregularities involving the election watchdog.

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