Kim Se-hwan, former secretary general of the National Election Commission, was found by the Board of Audit and Inspection to have created a 'second phone' under the commission's name to contact politicians ahead of the presidential election in March 2022 and the local elections in June. This means that the secretary general of the election commission communicated with politicians using an ' unofficial mobile phone' before the elections.
According to the Board of Audit and Inspection's report on the management of personnel at the election commission on the 1st, Kim Se-hwan, then secretary general of the commission, instructed the information policy department head in January 2022 to 'get a mobile phone activated.' The board revealed that Kim used this mobile phone to contact politicians.
During the audit, Kim stated, "It seems that the mobile phone was not received through official procedures," adding that "there was a need to make calls or send text messages to politicians using the mobile phone." Kim refused to provide specific details about what he discussed with politicians, saying it was 'various' and that he could not comment on that part.
Kim resigned in March 2022, taking responsibility for the controversy surrounding 'sokuri voting,' where ballots cast by voters who were confirmed or isolated due to COVID-19 were transported in boxes, ramen containers, and plastic shopping bags. He left without returning the mobile phone that he had activated and used in the name of the election commission.
As the audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection began, Kim reportedly reset the mobile phone, making it difficult to verify usage records, and returned it in November 2023, a year and eight months after his resignation. He claimed through supporting documents that "it was not intentional to take the mobile phone, but rather that it was unintentionally included when a staff member packed items that were in his residence."
However, the employees of the commission pointed out by Kim who claimed to have organized his residence belongings stated that 'there is no such fact,' making the claims difficult to believe, the Board of Audit and Inspection noted. Kim was indicted last December for allegedly exerting undue influence to have his son hired as an 8th-grade official in the Incheon Ganghwa County election commission in 2019.
The audit findings revealed that commission employees referred to Kim's son as 'the crown prince' and mentioned Kim's 'excessive love for his children' during conversations. In this regard, Na Kyung-won, a member of the People Power Party, posted on her Facebook that day, saying, "We need to thoroughly uncover the reality of this corrupt cartel through the introduction of special audit officials for the election commission and the push for a national investigation," and added, "During constitutional amendment discussions, we must implement a system that allows the public to properly monitor and check the election commission and the Constitutional Court."