Investigators to question election watchdog officials over ballot shortages during June 3 local elections, sources say
Police and prosecutors are expanding their probe into ballot shortages that disrupted voting at 26 polling stations, while protests over the election continue for a 10th day.
Authorities raid the National Election Commission office and collect data on ballot shortages at certain polling stations across the country during the June 3 local elections. The raid took place at the NEC's Gwacheon office in Gyeonggi on June 11.JOINT PRESS CORPS
A joint team of police investigators and prosecutors will soon question election watchdog officials over shortages of ballot papers during the June 3 local elections, legal sources said Sunday.
The expected move comes as the National Election Commission (NEC) has taken flak for the shortages that temporarily suspended voting at 26 polling stations, mostly in Seoul, during the elections earlier this month.
The team completed a search and seizure on NEC's servers on Saturday to secure internal messages and other records as part of a probe into the cause of the shortages.
The team plans to soon call in front-line NEC officials stationed in areas that experienced the shortages for questioning before summoning senior officials, including the NEC's former chief who resigned over the incident.
The investigation focuses on whether NEC officials exerted undue influence over the printing of the ballot papers and how they responded to the shortages. Under election law, civil servants are prohibited from using their positions to exert undue influence in an election.
The team raided seven locations, including the NEC's headquarters, on Thursday as part of the probe.
The National Election Commission office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on June 12YONHAP
Meanwhile, protests demanding a re-run of the elections over the ballot shortages continued for the 10th day at a vote-counting site in Seoul's southern district of Jamsil.
As of 10 a.m., about 600 people rallied around SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium, according to an unofficial police estimate, sharply down from some 19,000 people gathered Saturday night. The protests have tended to grow larger later in the day.
Officials are preparing for a long, drawn-out standoff, as a short-term dispersal appears unlikely, as the protests have happened spontaneously without an organizer.
A police official told Yonhap News Agency that the protesters are likely to return home once progress is made in the investigation into the ballot shortages.
The protests, which have blocked entrances to the stadium, have prevented sports organizations based there from entering their offices. The sports groups will hold a press conference on Monday to urge protesters to let them inside the stadium.
