Special counsel raids NEC over fabricated document on security check

Detailed summary

SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- Investigators raided the National Election Commission...

SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- Investigators raided the National Election Commission (NEC) on Thursday over suspicions the election watchdog falsified an official document to exaggerate the security of its computer servers, a special counsel team said.

Twenty-five personnel, including two prosecutors, were sent to the NEC headquarters in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, and two contractors to execute a search and seizure warrant on related charges, according to the team led by independent counsel Lee Tae-han.

The allegation dates back to 2023, when a joint security check involving the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) found the NEC had exaggerated the results of its own security inspection amid concerns over the vulnerability of its computer servers to cyberattacks.

The NEC had reported a perfect score of 100 the previous year, but a reassessment by the NIS and KISA produced a score of only 31.5.

The search was the latest in a series of raids launched by the special counsel team in recent weeks as it seeks to get to the bottom of various suspicions surrounding the NEC, mainly what led to the unprecedented shortage of ballots during June's nationwide local elections.

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