SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- Investigators raided the National Election Commission (NEC) headquarters for the second day Tuesday over suspicions that the election watchdog illegally paid commissioners monthly allowances even after the state auditor noted that such payments lacked a legal basis.
Sixty-five personnel, including four prosecutors, have been mobilized to search 18 NEC offices, including the offices of the chairperson and the secretary general, in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, since Monday, according to the independent counsel team led by special prosecutor Lee Tae-han.
The home of a former secretary general was also searched, officials said.
The independent counsel team has been investigating suspicions of irregularities involving the NEC after the team was launched in early September to look mainly into what led to the unprecedented ballot shortages in June's nationwide local elections and who is responsible.
Among the suspicions are allegations that the NEC illegally handed out monthly allowances to commissioners under the label of supporting their "fair election promotion activity," The amount paid to nine commissioners since 2020 totaled 905.8 million won (US$676,000) and the annual totals exceeded 100 million won each, the threshold for the crime of causing losses to state coffers.
The allowances continued even after the Board of Audit and Inspection warned that such payments had no legal basis. In 2024-2025, no budget had been set aside for the allowances, but the NEC is suspected of going ahead and paying them by appropriating budgets for other purposes.
(END)
[Copyright ⓒ K-VIBE. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution are prohibited.]
