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

On November 4, a special counsel team conducted raids at the headquarters of the National Election Commission (NEC) in Gwacheon, South Korea, over allegations of bid rigging and tampering with official voting logs. Thirty-two individuals, including two prosecutors, were involved in the search of the NEC's division, while an additional 44 personnel, including an assistant special counsel, were tasked with investigating the Seoul election commission.

According to the special counsel team led by Lee Tae-han, evidence suggests that the NEC provided preferential treatment to an unnamed company by offering it advance information on a tender to select a manufacturer of ballot printers, ultimately benefiting the company with a 32.1 billion won ($24 million) contract. The team further claims that the NEC revised its internal guidelines, forcing local election commissions to purchase ink and supplies from the chosen company, resulting in a 13.8 billion won ($10 million) purchase of ink and other supplies between December 2023 and July 2026.

In the second case, the NEC is accused of distributing ballots without serial numbers at approximately 140 polling stations during the June local elections. The special counsel team also alleges that district election commissions were ordered to write false serial numbers on voting logs, which keep records of the voting process and management of ballots. Of the 140 polling stations involved, at least 40 produced falsified or altered voting logs.