{
  "id": 1702616,
  "title": "President Lee appoints special counsel to probe ballot shortages",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/president-lee-appoints-special-counsel-to-probe-ballot-shortages-1702616",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-18T12:17:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/politics/20260818/president-lee-appoints-special-counsel-to-probe-ballot-shortages"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "President Lee Jae Myung has appointed prosecutor-turned-lawyer Lee Tae-han as a special counsel to investigate ballot shortages reported during the June 3 elections. The special counsel team, which will have up to 20 days to prepare for the investigation, will have a full-scale probe expected to begin early next month. The investigation will focus on allegations of mismanagement of ballot papers by the National Election Commission, with the probe lasting up to 90 days and extendable twice by 30 days each. The special counsel emphasized that the probe is aimed at clearing up doubts without political consideration or prejudice, stating that they will probe in accordance with laws and principles, as well as objective evidence and facts. The probe is expected to help lay the foundation for improvements in the country's election management.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "President Lee appoints special counsel to probe ballot shortages",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/president-lee-appoints-special-counsel-to-probe-ballot-shortages-1704509",
        "published": "2026-08-18T12:22:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}