The Personal Information Protection Commission received a report of a personal information leak from the National Election Commission and began verifying the facts in connection with an incident in which voter register comparison slips containing voters' personal information were exposed outside at the Jamsil 7-dong No. 2 polling station in Songpa-gu, Seoul.
On the 6th, according to the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC), the National Election Commission filed a personal information leak report with the PIPC the previous afternoon regarding the matter.
Jamsil 7-dong No. 2 polling station is where a ballot shortage occurred during the main vote in the 9th nationwide local elections (June 3 local elections). Afterward, demonstrators alleging election fraud blockaded the polling station for two nights and three days, and the ballot box was moved to the counting center only after police dispersed the crowd on the 5th.
After the ballot box was taken out, some demonstrators who entered the polling station found the voter register comparison slips left at the scene, filmed them, and livestreamed online. In the process, personal information such as voters' names and gender was exposed externally.
The comparison slips in question were reportedly a kind of queue ticket distributed to voters who could not vote immediately on election day due to a shortage of ballots.
The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) is determining how the comparison slips were exposed and whether there were problems in the National Election Commission's management process. Based on its findings, the PIPC plans to review whether the Personal Information Protection Act was violated and consider follow-up measures.
A Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) official said, "The National Election Commission filed a report on the matter yesterday, and before formally opening an investigation in accordance with procedure, we are first verifying the facts."