The joint police-prosecution task force investigating the ballot paper shortage during the June 3 local elections was fully launched on the 17th. The task force is expected to sequentially question working-level staff and senior officials, including former National Election Commission Chairperson Roh Tae-ak, as soon as it finishes analyzing materials seized in searches of the National Election Commission and election commissions in the Seoul area.
According to legal sources, the task force on the previous day completed preparatory work, including setting up offices at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, building an information network, and the transfer of investigative records. It comes a week after assembling a 27-person team of 12 prosecutors and 15 police officers on the 9th. All task force personnel will conduct the ballot paper shortage investigation from offices prepared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.
The task force plans to first focus on analyzing seized materials obtained through compulsory investigation. From the 11th to the 14th, it searched seven locations, including the National Election Commission and the election commissions of Seoul City, Songpa District, Gangnam District, Seocho District, Gwangjin District, and Dongjak District. However, because the National Election Commission's server data is vast, the forensic work is expected to take some time.
Interviews with on-site personnel have also begun. The task force on the previous day summoned two local government civil servants who served as ballot management staff at the Jamsil 7-dong No. 2 polling station as reference witnesses and questioned them. The task force was said to have checked with them the circumstances under which voting was suspended on election day, how the ballot paper shortage was reported, and the election commission's follow-up response.
After finishing the analysis of seized materials and interviews with front-line staff, the task force is expected to consider whether to question senior officials such as former National Election Commission Chairperson Roh Tae-ak and former National Election Commission Secretary-General Hur Chul-hoon. Senior officials at the National Election Commission, including the former chairperson Roh and former secretary-general Hur, are currently under travel bans.
At the core of the investigation are the decision-making process for calculating the number of ballot papers to print and the response to the shortage on election day. The task force is expected to examine whether internal concerns or objections were ignored when lowering the printing standard for ballot papers and whether officials failed to take necessary measures despite knowing in advance of the possibility of a shortage.
Whether to apply the charge of dereliction of duty is also a key issue. If it is confirmed that officials intentionally failed to take necessary measures such as additional printing or distribution despite recognizing the possibility of a ballot paper shortage, or that they delayed supplying ballot papers after receiving on-site requests on election day, dereliction of duty charges could be applied.
Earlier, the National Election Commission fact-finding committee announced its findings on the 15th, saying that the Songpa District Election Commission and the Seoul City Election Commission anticipated the possibility of a ballot paper shortage from the morning of election day, but joint response with the National Election Commission did not begin until after 5 p.m.
National Election Commission fact-finding committee Chairperson Cho Hyeon-uk said at a press briefing, "It appears necessary to hold them accountable for the Seoul City Election Commission's lax response and its lukewarm recognition of the gravity of the situation."