(LEAD) Special counsel raids NEC headquarters over alleged bid rigging

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SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Yonhap) -- Investigators raided the National Election Commission (NEC) headquarters Wednesday over allegations of preferential treatment in choosing a ballot printer maker and suspected tampering of official voting logs, a special counsel team said.

Thirty-two personnel, including two prosecutors, were mobilized to search a division of the NEC at its headquarters in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, and the office and factory of the manufacturer of early voting ballot-issuing machines, according to the team led by special counsel Lee Tae-han.

The National Election Commission headquarters in Gwacheon, south of Seoul (Yonhap)

Separately, 44 personnel, including an assistant special counsel, were sent to search the NEC headquarters and the Seoul election commission following the discovery of falsified or altered voting logs from at least 40 polling stations set up for June's nationwide local elections, the team said.

In the first case, the team said it found evidence suggesting that the election watchdog gave preferential treatment to the company, whose identity was withheld, by providing it with advance information on a tender to select a manufacturer of ballot printers.

The NEC is also suspected of revising its internal guidelines to require all local election commissions to purchase ink and other supplies from the chosen company.

As a result, the company supplied around 17,000 ballot issuing machines to the commissions in a 32.1 billion-won (US$24 million) project, the biggest commissioned by the NEC in the past five years, according to the independent counsel team.

The company also supplied 13.8 billion won worth of ink and other supplies to the commissions between December 2023 and July 2026, it said.

In the second case, the NEC is suspected of having distributed ballots without serial numbers to around 140 polling stations on the day of the local elections and ordered district election commissions to arbitrarily write the ballots' serial numbers on voting logs, which keep records of how voting proceeded and how ballots were managed and distributed.

Of the 140, at least 40 polling stations produced falsified or altered voting logs, according to the independent counsel team.

Lee's team has been investigating various suspected irregularities involving the NEC after it was launched in early September to look mainly into what led to the unprecedented ballot shortages in June's nationwide local elections.

On Monday and Tuesday, the team searched the NEC over suspicions the election watchdog illegally paid commissioners monthly allowances.

hague@yna.co.kr (END)

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(LEAD) Special counsel raids NEC headquarters over alleged bid rigging

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首尔，11月4日（韩联社）——特别检察官小组称，调查人员周三突击搜查了韩国国家选举委员会（NEC）总部，原因是有人指控该委员会在选择选票打印机制造商时存在特殊待遇，并涉嫌篡改官方投票记录。

据特别检察官李泰汉领导的小组称，包括两名检察官在内的32名人员被调动起来，搜查了位于首尔以南果川的国家选举委员会总部的一个部门，以及提前投票选票发放机制造商的办公室和工厂。

位于首尔以南果川的韩国国家选举委员会总部（韩联社）

调查组表示，另据报道，在至少 40 个为 6 月份全国地方选举设立的投票站中发现伪造或篡改的投票记录后，包括一名助理特别顾问在内的 44 名人员被派往搜查国家选举委员会总部和首尔选举委员会。

在第一起案件中，该团队表示，他们发现了证据，表明选举监督机构对一家身份不明的公司给予了优待，提前向该公司提供了有关选择选票打印机制造商的招标信息。

国家选举委员会还被怀疑修改了其内部准则，要求所有地方选举委员会从选定的公司购买墨水和其他用品。

据独立检察官团队称，该公司因此向各委员会提供了约 17,000 台选票发放机，该项目价值 321 亿韩元（2400 万美元），是韩国国家选举委员会近五年来委托的最大项目。

该公司还表示，在 2023 年 12 月至 2026 年 7 月期间，该公司向各委员会供应了价值 138 亿韩元的墨水和其他用品。

在第二起案件中，国家选举委员会被怀疑在地方选举当天向大约 140 个投票站分发了没有序列号的选票，并命令各区选举委员会随意在投票记录上写下选票的序列号，投票记录保存着投票过程以及选票管理和分发情况的记录。

据独立检察官团队称，在140个投票站中，至少有40个投票站伪造或篡改了投票记录。

李的团队自9月初成立以来，一直在调查国家选举委员会涉嫌的各种违规行为，主要目的是调查导致6月份全国地方选举中前所未有的选票短缺的原因。

周一和周二，该小组搜查了国家选举委员会，怀疑该选举监督机构非法向委员们支付月度津贴。

hague@yna.co.kr (完)

特别检察官连续第二天突击搜查NEC总部，调查不当津贴问题

特别检察官突击搜查NEC总部，调查不当津贴问题

特别检察官要求选举监督机构保留投票箱，以备可能的审查。

（新闻快讯）特别检察官小组从手球场移走地方选举选票

（导语）特别检察官突击搜查NEC总部，调查涉嫌串通投标案