With the June 3 local elections over, investigations into election crimes are gaining momentum. But concern is growing in legal circles that handling the cases may not go smoothly.
The statute of limitations for violations of the Public Official Election Act runs six months from election day, until Dec. 3, but the Prosecution Service is scheduled to be abolished and the Public Prosecution Office launched on Oct. 2, two months earlier. As the investigation and indictment system changes in the final stage of election-crime probes, questions are being raised over whether case transfers, supplementary investigations, and charging decisions can be handled properly.
◇ 1,572 election law violations uncovered… Up 30% from 2022
According to the National Election Commission on the 5th, as of the 2nd, the day before the election, a total of 1,572 violations of the election law had been detected. Of these, 294 led to complaints, 81 to requests for investigation, and 1,197 to warnings. Compared with the 1,212 cases detected by the day before the June 1, 2022 local elections, the figure rose about 30%. Once reports filed on election day and subsequent complaints and accusations after the election are included, the final number of cases is expected to increase further.
This election saw a variety of violations, including breaches of voting order, assault, suspected bribery, and artificial intelligence (AI) deepfakes. In South Jeolla, a voter who allegedly voted again on election day after early voting was reported to prosecutors, and in North Gyeongsang, a voter suspected of tearing a ballot at an early voting station was also reported. In Bundang, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, a man in his 30s was arrested by police on suspicion of throwing a water bottle at a prospective candidate during campaign activities.
There were also deepfake cases using AI. On the 1st, the commission reported a person who created deepfake videos with AI to defeat six candidates and posted them multiple times on YouTube and other platforms. The videos were found to have maliciously fabricated scenes of citizens hurling profanity and insults at a candidate during a street rally.
Complaints and accusations involving candidates are also continuing. The Democratic Party of Korea's Gyeonggi chapter reported People Power Party Gyeonggi governor candidate Yang Hyang-ja and Anseong mayoral candidate Kim Jang-yeon to the commission on suspicion of bribery under the Public Official Election Act and premature campaigning. The reason was that on the 2nd of last month, Yang visited Anseong, held a meeting at Kim's campaign supporters' office, and served refreshments. In Geomdan District, Incheon, a prospective district mayoral candidate surnamed A and two acquaintances were reported to prosecutors on suspicion of providing meals to a fellow party prospective candidate and campaign staff during the party primary process.
◇ Statute of limitations expires Dec. 3… Fears of last-minute investigations and indictments
Police and prosecutors are accelerating the handling of election-crime cases. The number of election offenders cracked down on by police, including cases reported by the commission and those identified by police, totals 4,191. Police have referred 265 of them to prosecutors. Prosecutors will review the cases received from police and decide sequentially whether to indict.
Legal circles expect handling of election-crime cases related to this local election to be difficult. The number of cases is rising, but the statute of limitations is short at six months. A lawyer who formerly served as a senior prosecutor said, "Considering everything from police investigations to referral, supplementary investigation, and charging decisions, time is indeed short."
This is why controversy over so-called "cramming" investigations and indictments right before the statute of limitations expires recurs every election. During the 8th local elections in 2022, prosecutors' processing rate of election-crime cases was 25.7% 90 days before the statute of limitations, 31.6% at 60 days, and 44.1% at 30 days. Even 15 days before expiration, the rate was only 58.1%. The rest had to be handled within a fortnight.
This time, the abolition of the Prosecution Service and the launch of the Public Prosecution Office add another variable. When the Public Prosecution Office launches on Oct. 2, the case-handling system overseen by the Prosecution Service will also change. The timing is barely about two months before the statute of limitations expires. If a large number of election-crime cases are transferred to prosecutors during this period, case transfers, supplementary investigations, and charging decisions could pile up at once.
The Public Prosecution Office Act allows the Public Prosecution Office to complete, within 90 days, investigations that are currently investigating in which the statute of limitations is imminent or where unavoidable due to the nature of the case. But legal circles say this provision alone is unlikely to prevent all on-the-ground confusion. With a severe staffing shortage inside the prosecution, the burden will inevitably grow if a large number of election-offender cases are transferred.
A prosecutor at a district prosecutors office in the capital region said, "We need to receive cases at least two months before the statute of limitations to file charges smoothly," adding, "With uncertainty over how supplementary investigation requests will work, I doubt we can handle a flood of last-minute transfers properly."