Special Counsel Raids South Korea Election Commission Over Stipends

A South Korean special counsel team said on Monday (Nov 2) it had raided the National Election Commission (NEC) over suspicions that the election watchdog unlawfully paid 905.8 million won (about US$675,000) in monthly stipends to its nine commissioners, Yonhap reported.

Investigators searched the offices of the NEC chair and its secretary general at the commission’s headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi province, just south of Seoul. Special counsel Lee Tae-han’s team deployed 65 members, including four prosecutors, for the search.

Stipends for National Election Commission members

According to the special counsel, the NEC paid the allowances in the name of assisting “free and fair elections”. The payments began at 171.5 million won in 2020.

The team alleges the payments continued even after the Board of Audit and Inspection and the National Assembly pointed out there were no grounds for them, and that this included diverting funds that had been allocated for other purposes.

The special counsel said the annual total exceeded 100 million won, the yearly threshold under a law for punishing acts that cause losses to the state treasury.

Probe also covers ballot shortages

Lee’s team was launched in September. Its mandate covers ballot shortages on the day of the June 3 local elections as well as other suspected irregularities at the election watchdog.

Yonhap’s report carried no response from the NEC or its commissioners, and no charges have been announced. The investigation is continuing.

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